Free trade agreements of India
India is party to free trade agreements (FTAs) and other trade agreements with many countries and trade blocs, and is negotiating with many others. As of 2022, India has preferential access, economic cooperation and FTA with more than 50 individual countries. The negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates were completed in 88 days, which was the shortest time span for any free trade agreement signed by India. Overview There are different types of trade agreements that enable preferential market access between India and signatory countries or trade blocs - preferential trade agreements (PTA), free trade agreements (FTA), and Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements (CECA) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA). A preferential trade agreement (PTA) involves two or more partners agreeing to reduce tariffs on an agreed number of tariff lines (products). The list of products on which the partners agree to reduce duty is called the positive list. In general, PTAs do not cover substantially all trade. The India Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement is an example of a PTA. A free trade agreement (FTA) also involves reducing or eliminating tariffs on items traded between the partner countries; however each maintains individual tariff