India spent years negotiating preferential access to some of the world's largest markets.
It has since signed trade agreements with several key trading partners, while negotiations continue with countries including the US and Canada. More recently, India has also signed an agreement with the European Union, opening the door to one of its biggest export opportunities.
Together, these agreements mark a shift in the country’s trade strategy—from cautiously protecting domestic markets to integrating more deeply with global value chains. But trade experts say the harder part begins after they are signed.
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The challenge is no longer securing market access. It is ensuring Indian exporters have the scale, competitiveness, quality standards and compliance capabilities needed to actually use that access.
"The success of an FTA cannot be judged merely by the number of tariff lines on which duties have been reduced. Preferential access only opens the door; Indian companies must be able to enter the market with the right price, quality, scale, certification and delivery reliability," Ajay Sahai, Director General and CEO of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), told ET Online.
