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India's 2025 trade drive: Large FTAs & international cooperation negotiated
Signing many high-impact free trade and comprehensive economic cooperation pacts in 2025, India sped its trade diplomacy and showed a strategic effort to grow export markets, draw foreign investment, and diversify away from traditional partners in response to changing world dynamics. Along with phased tariff decreases on sensitive goods like whiskey and automobiles, key completed agreements included the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with the UK providing nearly total tariff-free access for Indian products and broad coverage for IT and services exports. While the Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand guaranteed USD 20 billion in investment inflows over 15 years, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman gave 98% of Indian exports duty-free access—especially benefiting textiles, gems, and engineering goods. Additionally effective in October 2025, the historic agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) promises USD 100 billion in investments over 15 years and should generate one million jobs in India.
Targeting a bilateral trade volume of USD 20 billion by 2030 via upgraded tariff and non-tariff preferences, India also strengthened relations in Latin America and the Global South through an enlarged Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Brazil and the MERCOSUR grouping. Formally signed in December 2025 and planned to take effect early 2026, the Oman CEPA completes a year of energetic deal-making that dramatically increased India's market access and supply-chain resilience.
Looking ahead, India upped negotiations with significant countries to keep momentum going: discussions with the United States hope for a USD 500 billion bilateral trade target by 2030, while talks with the European Union aim for FTA conclusion by end-2025. Alongside continuous contacts with Thailand and others, progress was also achieved with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) following the signing of Terms of Reference in August 2025. Reflecting India's larger export-led growth, investment attraction, and strategic diversification strategy in reaction to changing trade and geopolitical policies, these initiatives include possible changes under the second Trump administration.
