CEPA vs FTA
Scope of Trade Agreement Types
A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a broader instrument than a standard Free Trade Agreement (FTA): while an FTA typically focuses on eliminating tariffs on goods, a CEPA additionally covers trade in services, investment, intellectual property, government procurement, and often regulatory cooperation and mobility of professionals. India has used the CEPA format for several recent negotiations (e.g., India-UAE CEPA, 2022) reflecting a preference for comprehensive rather than goods-only pacts with significant trading partners.
- India's CEPA/ECTA negotiating template typically includes chapters on trade in goods, rules of origin, trade remedies, services, investment, and sometimes mobility/visa provisions.
- Comparable recent India CEPAs: India-UAE CEPA (in force May 2022); the ongoing India-Australia relationship has both an interim ECTA (2022) and a fuller CECA under negotiation.
- The India-Canada track was formally relaunched in 2022 after over a decade of intermittent discussion, going through nine rounds between 2022 and 2023 before talks were paused in August 2023 amid a period of strain in the bilateral relationship; negotiations resumed in 2025-26 after diplomatic engagement was restored, with fresh Terms of Reference signed in March 2026.
● Tracked since March 02, 2026 · last seen September 21, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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