IN a blog post analyzing trade data for April to July of the current financial year, the minister noted that outbound shipments to FTA partner countries expanded by 23.9 per cent to US$57.2 billion, outpacing the 13.9 per cent growth recorded in shipments to non-FTA markets. Consequently, the share of FTA partners in India’s total exports rose from 31.1 per cent (US$46.2 billion) to 32.9 per cent (US$57.2 billion). At the same time, the trade deficit with FTA partners narrowed from US$34.2 billion to US$32.6 billion. Shipments to Singapore nearly doubled, contributing approximately US$4 billion to export growth, while outbound trade with Oman climbed by US$0.6 billion following the enforcement of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on 1 June 2026. Goyal pointed out that exporters are gradually overcoming previous structural bottlenecks to leverage these pacts.
“For years, a fair criticism of India’s free trade agreements was that we signed them and then did not use them to their full potential. Our exporters found the rules-of-origin paperwork tedious. Importers, on the other hand, used the agreements enthusiastically.
So the deals looked one-sided. This time the pattern is different.” “Preferential access through FTAs provides excellent opportunities for our exporters to expand their global footprint, access new markets, and deepen their presence internationally. Our exporters are steadily leveraging these opportunities to drive greater exports,” Goyal stated.
ANI
#TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar