India’s FTA Network: Updates in 2025

Posted by Written by Archana Rao Reading Time: 6 minutes

India’s foreign trade landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by active FTA negotiations and revisions to existing trade treaties with key global markets. As of 2025, India is in talks with major partners, including the US, UK, EU, and ASEAN, while also exploring new agreements with Africa, Latin America, and the Arab Gulf. India Briefing brings you the latest updates on the country’s trade negotiations and economic partnerships.

As of 2025, India has 13 active Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and several ongoing negotiations aimed at strengthening bilateral and regional trade partnerships. Additionally, India is reevaluating its investment treaties and preferential trade agreements to align with contemporary economic realities, ensuring a balanced approach between global investor protection and national interests.

This tracker provides an overview of India’s trade agreements, including existing pacts and ongoing negotiations.

Classification of India’s trade agreements

  1. Free Trade Agreements: FTAs are legally binding treaties between two or more countries aimed at reducing or eliminating trade barriers, such as tariffs, quotas, and restrictions on imports and exports. These agreements often include provisions for trade facilitation, intellectual property rights, and investment protections.
  2. Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs): Unlike FTAs, PTAs offer selective tariff reductions on specific goods, rather than complete elimination. Some of the examples of such agreement include the India-MERCOSUR PTA and the India-Chile PTA.
  3. Comprehensive Economic Partnerships/Cooperation Agreements (CEPAs/CECAs): These agreements go beyond FTAs by including provisions on investment, services, and regulatory cooperation. This includes the India-South Korea CEPA and the India-Singapore CECA.
  4. Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs): BITs focus on protecting and promoting investments between two countries by ensuring fair treatment and dispute resolution mechanisms. For examples, the India-UAE BIT and the India-Uzbekistan BIT.
  5. Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs): These involve multiple countries within a specific region aiming for economic integration. Examples include the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA).

India’s FTA updates in 2025

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As of February 2025, India is actively engaged in several bilateral trade treaty and FTA negotiations:

  • United States: India and U.S. aim to double bilateral trade to US$500 billion by 2030. On February 17, 2025, India’s Union Minister Of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that the two countries are committed to negotiating a strong trade agreement within the next 6-8 months.
  • United Kingdom: FTA negotiations between India and the UK are set to resume in early 2025 as per British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s update to the UK Parliament on November 21, 2024. As many as 14 rounds of negotiations have taken place between both countries till now. The India-UK FTA negotiations began in January 2022.
  • European Union (EU): India and the EU are advancing their negotiations on an FTA. According to news reports, the next round of discussions is scheduled for March 10 to 14, 2025, in Brussels. Prior to this, a delegation from the European Commission will visit India on February 28, 2025, to prepare for the talks.
  • Oman: As of February 2025, India and Oman are actively advancing negotiations on a CEPA. India’s Union Minister of Commerce and Industry visited Muscat in January 27-28, 2025, to discuss the CEPA with Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion, Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef. Formal CEPA negotiations commenced in November 2023, with significant progress made by January 2024.
  • European Free Trade Association (EFTA): India and the EFTA bloc comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland signed a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on March 10, 2024. This agreement aims to enhance bilateral trade and investment between the parties. The TEPA is expected to come into force before the end of 2025, following ratification by EFTA member states.
  • Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): As of February 2025, India and ASEAN are actively engaged in reviewing the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), originally signed in 2009. The fifth Joint Committee meeting is scheduled to take place in February 2025, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • Qatar: Currently, India and Qatar are actively exploring the possibility of an FTA to enhance bilateral trade and investment. During a two-day visit to New Delhi (February 18-19, 2025), Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed strategies to double trade between the two nations to US$28 billion within the next five years.

Other India trade negotiations to watch in 2025

India-Canada CEPA: Negotiations were re-launched in March 2022 during the fifth Ministerial Dialogue on Trade & Investment. However, as of September 2023, Canada has paused these talks, with both countries agreeing to decide on their resumption mutually.

India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) FTA: India and the GCC signed a Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation in 2004 to strengthen trade ties. FTA negotiations resumed in November 2022, and by January 2025, the GCC expressed intentions to initiate formal discussions within the year. The GCC member countries are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain.

Status of India’s bilateral investment treaties

BITs aim to promote and protect investments between India and its partner countries.

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In February 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to revamp the current Model BIT to make it more investor-friendly, aiming to attract increased foreign investment.

India is negotiating new BITs with the UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the EU and renegotiating existing ones to align with contemporary economic realities and policy objectives.

Most of India’s earlier BITs (previously known as BIPA (Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement)) were terminated following the adoption of a new Model BIT in 2016. This model emphasizes a balance between investor rights and the host state’s obligations.

Notable BITs currently in force include:

  1. India-UAE bilateral investment treaty: Signed in Abu Dhabi in February 2024, this treaty came into effect on August 31, 2024. Speaking to The Indian Express, Ajay Seth, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), said the BIT with the UAE, which provides safeguards for foreign portfolio investors and includes entity-based protection, exemplifies the shift toward more investor-friendly investment norms.
  2. India-Uzbekistan bilateral investment treaty: Signed in 2024, this treaty aims to enhance investment flows between the two nations.

In addition to these, India has active BITs with several countries, including:

  • Bangladesh: Fostering investment cooperation between the neighboring countries.
  • Belarus: Aiming to protect and promote mutual investments.
  • Kyrgyzstan: Enhancing economic collaboration through investment protection.
  • Thailand: Strengthening economic ties and investment flows.
  • Trinidad and Tobago: Encouraging bilateral investments and economic cooperation.

Switzerland and Liechtenstein are pushing for a BIT with India after the EFTA-India trade agreement committed to a US$100 billion investment over 15 years. Although BITs were initially not discussed, the push comes after India unilaterally annulled older BITs and Switzerland suspended the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) clause in its Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with India. This decision, following an Indian Supreme Court ruling, has led to higher taxes for Swiss firms like Nestlé.

India, which had favored state rights in its 2016 BIT model, is now working on a revamp to offer better investor protections after concerns from Western trade partners.

India’s FTA network: Existing trade agreements

India has established 13 FTAs with various countries and regional blocs. These agreements aim to strengthen India’s trade relations, promote economic growth, and facilitate market access.

  1. South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) – implemented in 2006 among SAARC nations to reduce tariffs.
  2. India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) – in effect since 2000, promoting bilateral trade.
  3. India-Nepal Treaty of Trade – provides duty-free access to primary products.
  4. India-Bhutan Agreement on Trade, Commerce, and Transit – eliminates tariffs on a range of goods.
  5. India-Thailand Free Trade Agreement – initiated in 2004 under the Early Harvest Scheme.
  6. India-Singapore CECA – covers trade, services, and investment.
  7. India-Malaysia CECA – effective from 2011, covering trade, services, and investments.
  8. India-Japan CEPA – eliminates tariffs on a vast majority of goods since 2011.
  9. India-South Korea CEPA – reduces tariffs and promotes trade.
  10. India-ASEAN FTA – established in 2010 for goods, expanded in 2014 for services.
  11. India-Mauritius CECPA – signed in 2021, India’s first trade agreement with an African nation.
  12. India-UAE CEPA – implemented in 2022, boosting bilateral trade.
  13. India-Australia ECTA – signed in December 2022, promoting key sectors like agriculture and minerals.

India’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)

Under the GSP, India benefits from preferential tariff treatment under various schemes provided by different countries, facilitating duty-free or reduced tariff access for Indian exports.

Provider

Beneficiaries

Entry into force

India

Duty-Free Tariff Preference Scheme for Least Developed Countries (LDCs): 46 countries

August 13, 2008

United Kingdom

Developing Countries Trading Scheme – 65 countries, including India

June 19, 2023

Armenia

Generalized System of Preferences – 153 countries, including India

October 10, 2016

Australia

Generalized System of Preferences – 177 countries, including India

January 1, 1974

European Union (EU)

Generalized System of Preferences – 88 countries, including India

July 1, 1971

Japan

Generalized System of Preferences – 130 countries, including India

August 1, 1971

Kazakhstan

Generalized System of Preferences – 153 countries, including India

October 10, 2016

Kyrgyz Republic

Generalized System of Preferences – 153 countries, including India

October 10, 2016

New Zealand

Generalized System of Preferences – 140 countries, including India

January 1, 1972

Norway

Generalized System of Preferences – 122 countries, including India

October 1, 1971

Russian Federation

Generalized System of Preferences – 153 countries, including India

October 10, 2016

Switzerland

Generalized System of Preferences – 123 countries, including India

March 1, 1972

 India’s Preferential Trade Agreements

  • SAARC Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA) – includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
  • Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) – previously known as the Bangkok Agreement, signed in 1975 with Bangladesh, China, India, South Korea, Laos, and Sri Lanka.
  • India-MERCOSUR PTA – signed with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay in 2004; effective from June 1, 2009.
  • India-Afghanistan PTA – signed on March 6, 2003.
  • India-Chile PTA – strengthening economic ties with Latin America.

Some proposed regional trade agreements

  • Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) FTA – a proposed FTA agreement involving a grouping of countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – aiming to strengthen regional economic integration.
  • India-SACU Preferential Trade Agreement – a proposed agreement between India and the Southern African Customs Union (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Eswatini) to improve trade relations.

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