India's Evolving FTA Architecture
India has substantially expanded its network of trade agreements since 2022, moving from a period of caution (India stayed out of RCEP in 2019) to actively concluding deep bilateral pacts. This reflects a broader trade-policy shift toward deep-integration agreements with major economies rather than only region-wide blocs.
- India-UAE CEPA (in force May 2022) and India-Australia ECTA (in force December 2022) were India's first FTAs with a developed/high-income economy in over a decade.
- India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), covering Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, was signed March 10, 2024, and entered into force October 1, 2025 — offering 100% market access for India's industrial/non-agricultural exports.
- The EU is currently among India's largest trading partners; the FTA under approval would be the largest trade agreement either side has concluded, connecting markets of nearly two billion people.
- EU-level trade agreements are negotiated exclusively by the European Commission on behalf of all 27 member states (trade being an exclusive EU competence), which is why unanimous Council backing — as seen on September 4 — is a required procedural step before signature, distinct from India negotiating bilaterally with individual EU states.
● Tracked since July 14, 2026 · last seen September 11, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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