India pursues 10 trade deals alongside UK FTA, aims for $500 bn US trade

Negotiations for about 10 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and bilateral trade agreements are currently underway with various trading partners, even as India successfully concluded a “historic and ambitious” deal with the UK on May 6.

Ever since 2019, India has embarked on FTA negotiations in the wake of emerging economic realities and also to correct the balance of trade skewed in favour of the trading partner. A commerce ministry source said India is engaged in deliberations pertaining to alterations in the FTAs and bilateral trade pacts, and also new pacts with about 10 trading partners. “Negotiations are going on with the US and the EU, while efforts are on the forge new ties with other nations,” said a source close to the development.

India and the US have been negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Both are likely to conclude a preliminary set agreement by the end first half of the current financial year. It may be noted that in the wake of the India-US joint statement of 13 February 2025, where both sides agreed to expand bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, a meeting was held in New Delhi in March.

“To realise the shared objective of promoting growth that ensures fairness, national security and job creation, both sides have broadly come to an understanding on a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), and finalise its first tranche by fall 2025,” the ministry of commerce said in a release after the March meeting.

Later, both sides met again in April in Washington, D.C. India said the discussions on wide-ranging subjects covering tariff and non-tariff matters were “fruitful”. “Pathway for concluding the first tranche of the mutually beneficial, multi-sector BTA by Fall of 2025 was discussed. In-person sectoral engagements are set to begin by the end of May,” the commerce ministry said.

Apart from this, India and the EU have decided to conclude negotiations for an FTA by the end of this year. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maros Sefcovic, in Brussels on May 1. Both sides are set to meet again for FTA deliberations in New Delhi by the end of this month.

Additionally, India and Chile have announced that they will kick off discussions on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), encompassing a holistic tie-up beyond trade. This will include technology, health, agriculture, and critical minerals, among others. With India bullish on energy transition and e-mobility, the CEPA will also allow Indian companies to bid for lithium.

Additionally, India and New Zealand have agreed to revive the FTA negotiations, which have been stalled for over a decade now. Also, India is advancing its CEPA talks with Oman, and has inked a pact to enhance trade and investment with the European Free Trade Association comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), signed in 2009, is also being reviewed. In addition to the above, India and Qatar are scouting for FTA opportunities. Both the countries are planning to double the bilateral trade to $28 billion in the next five years. India-Canada CEPA, FTA with India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and investment treaty with Saudi Arabia are also in the pipeline.