FTA vs CEPA vs PTA
Trade Agreement Typology
India's trade agreements exist on a spectrum of depth: a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) offers tariff concessions on a limited, negotiated list of products; a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) eliminates or substantially reduces tariffs across most goods trade; a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) or Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) goes further, covering goods, services, investment, intellectual property, and regulatory cooperation. The India-New Zealand agreement is designated an FTA, focused primarily on goods and services market access, with limited investment/IP chapters compared to a full CEPA.
- India-Chile (2006/2007) began as a PTA; a 2016 expansion broadened its scope, and it is now being upgraded to a full CEPA.
- India-UAE (2022) and India-Australia (2022, later upgraded toward CECA) are CEPA/CECA-type agreements with deeper investment and mobility provisions.
- All such agreements are notified to the WTO under GATT Article XXIV (goods) and GATS Article V (services), which require substantially all trade to be covered for an RTA to qualify for an MFN exception.
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry, through the Department of Commerce, is the nodal negotiating authority for all Indian trade agreements.
● Tracked since March 16, 2026 · last seen September 21, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes