Industry experts stress practical implementation of trade agreements to improve export access and strengthen manufacturing competitiveness

Industry experts have stated that India’s next priority in the free trade agreement (FTA) space should focus on implementation and improving exporter utilisation of existing agreements. They noted that the gap between negotiated market access and actual usage by exporters remains a major challenge for the country’s trade growth.

Experts have said that India should prioritise the practical implementation of free trade agreements (FTAs) and support exporters in effectively utilising negotiated trade benefits to improve export performance.

According to experts, India’s FTA utilisation historically has remained around 25%, compared with 70-80% in developed economies. They stated that reducing this gap represents one of the country’s key opportunities for trade policy reform.

They added that the immediate focus should be to ensure that negotiated benefits translate into actual claims at border points and help exporters defend against new trade barriers while expanding market access.

Gulzar Didwania, partner, Deloitte India, said India has implemented several trade agreements so far, including those with Singapore, Japan, Korea, the UAE, Australia, ASEAN, and the EFTA bloc. He also referred to ongoing discussions with Oman, New Zealand, the European Union, and the UK.

“The immediate priority should now be to ensure that these negotiated benefits translate into actual claims at the border,” Didwania said.

“The policy narrative must now move decisively from FTA signing to FTA utilisation. India has already secured significant market-access outcomes including duty-free access for 99% of India’s exports to the UK under CETA and market access for more than 99% of India’s exports by trade value under the India-EU FTA,” he added.

Didwania also stated that FTAs could help reduce the impact of geopolitical uncertainties on India’s merchandise exports by creating alternative trade routes and improving access to multiple strategic markets.

He said India should diversify export markets and products, deepen integration with global value chains, and strengthen domestic manufacturing competitiveness to reduce external vulnerabilities.

Rudra Kumar Pandey, partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said that FTA utilisation remains the top priority.

“The gap between market access negotiated and market access used remains India’s weakest link,” he said, adding that utilisation rates under the Australia ECTA have reached 84%.

Pandey also noted that awareness among MSMEs about FTAs remains low and that certification infrastructure is still underdeveloped across several agreements.

“Every firm with export potential must understand the preferential access available to it and have the documentation and compliance support to use it,” Pandey said.

He added that sectors where India has secured deeper tariff concessions — including textiles, leather, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, and marine products — require targeted PLI-type support to build production capacity and quality standards needed to utilise these agreements effectively.

Pandey further stated that India must accelerate standards alignment and regulatory upgradation to meet partner market compliance requirements. This includes strengthening domestic certification systems, pursuing mutual recognition agreements for Indian testing and conformity assessment, and building carbon accounting frameworks required for access to European markets.