Ø India’s nine FTAs spanning economies with
about $60 trillion GDP to provide preferential access to nearly two-thirds of global
trade: Mr. Goyal
Ø Combined with upcoming FTAs and efforts
to deepen market access, India could gain access to 75% of global trade at rates
lower than competitors
Ø India’s exports reach about $317 billion
during April-July, up by $36-37 billion over corresponding period last year
Ø Calls for FTA outreach to reach every
district, MSME, trader, entrepreneur, startup and woman entrepreneur
·
Nine FTAs covering economies with around $60
trillion GDP provide India preferential access to nearly two-thirds of global
trade.
·
Upcoming FTAs with Canada, Mexico, Chile, Mercosur,
SACU, GCC and Israel, along with deeper engagement with ASEAN, Korea and Japan,
could raise India’s preferential access to around 75% of global trade.
·
India’s exports reached about $317 billion during April–July
2026, up by around $36–37 billion from $280 billion in the same period
last year.
·
India has set a $1 trillion export target for the current
year, requiring about 16% growth.
·
Goyal called for an FTA outreach drive across all 780
districts, targeting MSMEs, traders, startups, first-time exporters and women
entrepreneurs.
·
The government will focus on improving FTA utilisation, rules-of-origin documentation, SPS/TBT approvals,
regulatory clearances and export facilitation.
·
Export Promotion Councils and industry associations have been urged
to reach grassroots exporters, provide information in local languages and increase
sectoral/international delegations.
·
E-commerce exports will be promoted as a lower-barrier
route for MSMEs and first-time exporters to enter global markets.
·
Export opportunities exist across engineering, electronics,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, marine products, agriculture, gems & jewellery and leather, besides expanding services.
·
Exporters will receive priority support in the proposed
100 BHAVYA parks, including plug-and-play facilities and incentives linked
to higher export commitments.
·
The Export Promotion Mission (EPM) and Districts
as Export Hubs (DEH) will support export credit, digitised
compliance and FTA-related documentation.
·
Goyal stressed that FTAs should provide better tariff
treatment than India’s competitors, making competitiveness—not merely the absolute
tariff rate—the key measure.
·
The initiative aims to transform FTA benefits into higher
exports, more jobs, greater foreign-exchange earnings and broader participation
of Indian businesses in global trade.
[ABS News Service/03.09.2026]
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry
Piyush Goyal on 3 September, 2026 called for a focused, inclusive and nationwide
effort to maximise the utilisation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to expand India’s
trade across the world and ensure that the benefits of enhanced market access reach
businesses across the country. Addressing the National Workshop on “Leveraging FTAs
an Outreach Programme” in New Delhi today, Mr. Goyal emphasised the need for a concerted
effort to translate India’s expanding network of FTAs into greater export opportunities
for businesses across the country.
Mr. Goyal said the initiative should rapidly
take roots across the country and reach the last person, smallest business person,
trader, entrepreneur, startup and woman entrepreneur across all 780 districts, big
and small. He said every contribution, big or small, would be invaluable in achieving
the larger objective of transforming India from a largely inward-looking domestic
economy into an international player of significance.
The day-long workshop brought together
senior officials from the Central Government, States and Union Territories, Export
Promotion Councils and industry associations, with the objective of translating
India’s expanding network of Free Trade Agreements into measurable outcomes for
Indian exporters, particularly MSMEs and first-time exporters.
The Minister said India should become
an economy recognised and respected across the world for its contributions and a
trusted partner of the world. He said this trust should translate into value and
that this value proposition should emerge from collective efforts across the country
towards making India a $30 trillion economy by 2047, with a very large share of
international trade.
Mr. Goyal said India was passing through
an important phase of its economic journey and highlighted the first-quarter GDP
growth of 7.8% at constant prices. He said achieving 7.8% GDP growth amid uncertainty
and tremendous turmoil around the world was a significant achievement. He urged
people not to be guided by the “naysayers”.
The Minister said the GDP numbers were
not made by the government, ministers or bureaucrats, but were determined through
an elaborate, ground-up and independent process run by the Ministry of Statistics,
which has been in place for decades.
The Minister called for continued, consistent,
relentless and outcome-oriented efforts, with greater inclusion to take the entire
country along, encourage new entrepreneurs to look at global markets and utilise
the tremendous opportunities that have opened up.
Mr. Goyal said India’s nine FTAs, spanning
economies representing about $60 trillion of GDP, would provide preferential access
to nearly two-thirds of global trade. He said the other FTAs that India would conclude
over the next few months and couple of years, including with Canada, Mexico, Chile,
Mercosur, SACU, GCC and Israel, together with efforts to review ASEAN, Korea and
Japan or take other steps to secure greater market access, would give India access
to 75% of global trade at a rate lower than that of its competitors.
He said a Preferential Trade Agreement
(PTA), FTA or Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) was ultimately about obtaining a rate
better than that of India’s competition. The absolute tariff number was immaterial
and had to be considered in relation to the competition.
Mr. Goyal said the trading patterns of
the United States and European Union were different, with entirely different costs
of operation and labour costs. India therefore had to assess the rates paid by competing
countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh in other markets.
Giving the example of the textile industry,
Mr. Goyal said India had for years faced difficulty competing with Bangladesh and
Vietnam, which benefited from LDC status and FTAs respectively, enabling them to
access developed markets at zero or lower duties, while India faced higher duties.
He said the situation had now changed, with India securing rates better than those
of competing geographies in almost all developed markets, leaving no excuse except
performance, which would depend on scale, quality, diligence, maintaining customer
trust and timely delivery in terms of quality, schedules and packaging. “The ball
is now entirely in our court,” he said.
Mr. Goyal said the collective effort would
involve the government and different line ministries, with the Department of Commerce
and DPIIT taking the lead, along with all line ministries. He said that gradually,
through engagements, all critical ministries should be involved, including textiles,
pharmaceuticals, chemicals and electronics, which have an important role in the
journey India has embarked upon.
On FTAs already operational and those
coming into force, the Minister said an ambitious target had been taken for the
current year. With the India-UK FTA live from July 15, Mauritius, Oman, UAE, Australia
and the UK were already live. EFTA, comprising four countries, would also become
live, while New Zealand would get live soon, followed thereafter by the European
Union’s 27 nations.
He said that as soon as the United States
was able to provide India a preferential rate in comparison with India’s competition,
the BTA would be finalised and the finer details announced.
Mr. Goyal said India had secured a good
deal in all nine FTAs. He said every agreement was a win-win for both sides, while
every sensitive sector, including those sensitive to farmers, fishermen, MSMEs and
workers, as well as critical sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, processed
agri-foods and agricultural products, had been given a good deal that India could
be proud of.
He said the agreements had been well negotiated
through deep stakeholder engagement and consultation, with significant protection
to sensitive sectors and the ability to export in areas of India’s interest and
strength.
Mr. Goyal said India had set a $1 trillion
export target for the current year, representing about 16% growth.
He said exports during the first four
months of the current year had reached about $317 billion, compared with $280 billion
during April-July last year, representing an increase of $36-37 billion in the first
four months itself.
The Minister said exports generally accelerate
as the country moves closer to Christmas and peak during the last quarter, from
January to March. He said the current trend was a good sign and emphasised the need
to sustain the growth.
Referring to the August numbers available
so far, Mr. Goyal said India appeared to be on course. With collective effort and
more opportunities opening up, he expressed confidence that the opportunities would
reach every district and every sector with present and future potential.
He said India would expand its product
basket, encourage new exporters, help small exporters become large exporters and
support even large exporters in every respect possible.
Mr. Goyal sought support for the Export
Promotion Mission and called for innovative and smart ideas during the workshop.
He said the government was also open to ideas and suggestions on critical areas
such as regulatory approvals, SPS and TBT approvals, and freight compensation wherever
exports from hill areas or the Northeast, including Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal,
required support to offset some of their difficulties.
He said wherever the Strait of Hormuz
causes a problem, ways should be found to support small exporters particularly.
The Minister said that by 2030, four years
from now, India should aspire to meet the target that had been set many years ago.
He acknowledged that India had faced COVID, two wars and several challenges, but
said the effort should remain focused and India should not give up on the $2 trillion
target.
He said that if the target was big, performance
would also be good. Even if there were small shortcomings, the outcome should be
as close to $2 trillion as possible. He said that setting a target of $1.2 trillion
or $1.3 trillion and achieving it would not be enough to serve the country, provide
jobs to millions of people and create new entrepreneurs.
Mr. Goyal also called for co-location
of offices, noting that these offices were in the states and would need to provide
support at the state level in the future. He said the momentum and enthusiasm needed
to be sustained.
The Minister said opportunities existed
across every sector, including engineering, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals,
textiles, marine, agriculture, gems and jewellery and leather. He said the list
was endless.
He also highlighted the opening up of
many new sectors in services and said every country was going to the moon, while
referring to finance.
Mr. Goyal emphasised the importance of
technical standards and sanitary and SPS standards. He said India should not become
a conduit for anything that was not ethical and must remain a trusted partner of
the world.
He said India had to add true value and
that the country-of-origin certificate should have value.
The Minister said exporters would be given
priority support for the coming 100 BHAVYA parks. Concessions would be given to
exporters for allocation to those who committed to higher levels. Facilities needed
by exporters for plug-and-play operations would be brought in. Existing clusters
through the Export Promotion Mission or industrial parks would also be supported.
Mr. Goyal referred to the Prime Minister
Mr. Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address last month, in which enterprises were
called upon to ensure that products across sectors reach international markets and
exceed, rather than merely meet, international quality standards.
He said this was the way forward and that
the country had to take the effort forward in mission mode.
Concluding his address, Mr. Goyal offered
a number of suggestions.
First, every state should identify products
and clusters where FTAs were already benefiting businesses and where benefits remained
underutilised, so that the government could assess what support could be provided.
Second, first-time exporters and new products
should be identified. He said e-commerce offered MSMEs and first-time exporters
a lower-barrier route to enter international markets and that changes had been made
to encourage e-commerce to begin exporting on a large scale.
Third, coordination between Export Promotion
Councils (EPCs) should be strengthened and EPCs should reach down to their industry.
Mr. Goyal said he was concerned that engagement between EPCs and industry did not
reach the bottom of the pyramid, the last mile and the frontline exporter. He questioned
how much the EPCs were taking their messages down to exporters and industry.
He said industry associations similarly
had to reach the last person and the smallest unit. Coordination between the government,
associations and EPCs should be strengthened, with more and more people from different
parts of the country and from every district taken in international delegations
to showcase the right products to the right markets. Sectoral delegations, in particular,
should be increased.
Fourth, industry associations should set
targets for themselves, while EPCs should set more ambitious targets, disseminate
information to their members and MSMEs in local languages and through easy-to-consume
content, enrol more members and become the fulcrum of support and the real cutting
edge of engagement between the government and exporters.
Finally, Mr. Goyal said the Department
should establish sector- or cluster-wise workshops and a facilitation mechanism
with a point of contact at the district or state level. The response timeline for
exporters reaching out for support should be very fast, instantaneous wherever possible,
and online in every case without the need to travel all the time.
Mr. Goyal expressed confidence that working
together would generate millions of jobs on the ground, earn billions of dollars
in foreign exchange for the country and inspire future generations to enter the
export business on a much larger scale.
He said India was transitioning from a
developing nation today in the Amrit Kaal to a developed nation by 2047, with a
$30 trillion economic footprint.
In his address, the Secretary Department
of Commerce Mr. Rajesh Agrawal highlighted the core objective of Workshop i.e. bringing
all stakeholders together, including Central and State governments, the EPCs, industry
bodies. He stated that the breakout sessions were curated to disseminate to all
the States the specific opportunities arising in different sectors for their industries.
The addresses reaffirmed the Government's
commitment to a sustained, State-partnered approach to export promotion and outlined
the Department's roadmap for deepening FTA utilisation over the coming years.
A special address on the Export Promotion
Mission (EPM) and the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative highlighted that
the Mission is built around pillars designed for easier access to export credit,
simplified and digitised compliance, and direct support for FTA documentation, including
rules-of-origin certification. The Mission also strengthens awareness of Regional
Authorities, and closing information gap that first-generation and MSME exporters
most need.
A special address by Chairman ITPO,
Mr. Jawed Ashraf covered strengthening market linkages for Indian exporters. He
emphasised on collaborative action for export promotion. He also highlighted the
transformative role that ITPO is playing in supporting Indian exporters.
Another presentation focused on the market
opportunities arising from India's recent FTAs. A State-level perspective on leveraging
FTAs was also presented by the State of Rajasthan, drawing on ground experience
in export facilitation.
The afternoon session comprised six parallel,
State-focused breakout groups, with States and Union Territories organised regionally
and each session co-chaired by a senior officer of the Department of Commerce and
the senior-most State official present. Discussions in each group focused on identifying
specific export clusters and products, the practical constraints exporters face
in utilising FTA benefits, and the follow-up support required from the Central Government.
Key action points from each breakout group were presented at a valedictory session,
followed by a vote of thanks.
The workshop is part of the Department
of Commerce's continuing effort to strengthen Centre-State coordination on export
promotion and ensure that the benefits of India's Free Trade Agreements reach manufacturers
and exporters at the district and cluster level across the country.