Overview
The FTAs that India has signed in the last five years are being hailed as a historic surge in trade diplomacy. However, Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran cautioned that the real economic benefit materialises only after the agreements are put into practice, not at the moment of signing. He highlighted a "substantial" gap between the promises of the deals and the existing regulatory standards and procedural barriers on both sides.
Key Developments
- India has concluded nine FTAs and comprehensive economic partnerships in the past five years, the fastest pace in independent India's history.
- The agreements with the UK, EU, EFTA, the United States, Oman, New Zealand and Australia are framed as strategic moves to diversify India’s economic footprint.
- EU Ambassador to India Hervé Delphin warned that cumbersome customs procedures and conformity requirements could nullify the benefits of the India‑EU FTA if businesses find compliance costs higher than tariff savings.
- The CII Annual Business Summit 2026 served as the platform for Nageswaran’s remarks, underscoring the private sector’s stake in swift FTA implementation.
Important Facts
• The nine agreements represent a concentrated burst of trade diplomacy, aiming to reduce dependence on any single market or corridor.
• Nageswaran stressed that closing the gap between concluded frameworks and actual depth of integration must be pursued with the same urgency as the negotiations themselves.
• Delphin’s warning points to the risk that “administrative procedures … too burdensome” could make the cost of compliance outweigh the advant