India is stepping up efforts to ensure that businesses across the country make greater use of the opportunities created by Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), with the government calling for a nationwide push to improve awareness and utilisation of these trade arrangements.

Addressing a meeting on ‘Leveraging Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)’ last Thursday, the Commerce Minister emphasised the need to maximise FTA utilisation so that the benefits of enhanced market access reach businesses across India.

While FTAs provide exporters with preferential access to international markets, their effectiveness ultimately depends on how effectively companies understand and use the provisions available to them.

Awareness Remains a Key Challenge

The issue of limited awareness about FTA benefits is not new. India’s Foreign Trade Policy Statement released on April 1, 2015, had already highlighted the lack of awareness among industry about the advantages available under various trade agreements.

At the time, the government had set an ambitious target of increasing India’s merchandise and services exports from $465.9 billion in 2013-14 to $900 billion by 2019-20.

The policy identified awareness-building as an important step towards improving FTA utilisation. As part of the effort, the government introduced an outreach programme covering Tier-I and Tier-II cities, followed by a series of seminars and awareness initiatives.

Tracking FTA-Based Exports

Another important issue identified in the 2015 policy was the difficulty in accurately measuring exports taking place under FTAs.

Export documentation did not separately capture preferential trade data, making it difficult to determine the actual value of India's exports benefiting from FTAs. The policy noted that exports under various FTAs could not be quantified accurately.

Certificates of Origin were identified as a possible means of estimating such trade. However, the government also acknowledged that this method had considerable scope for error.

The policy therefore proposed the development of a system that could separately capture export data under FTAs.

From Market Access to Market Success

The renewed focus on FTA utilisation highlights an important distinction: signing trade agreements and securing preferential market access are only the first steps. The larger challenge is ensuring that exporters, particularly businesses outside major commercial centres, understand the agreements and are able to use them effectively.

For Indian exporters, greater awareness of tariff preferences, rules of origin, documentation requirements and other FTA provisions could help translate negotiated market access into actual export opportunities.

The government's latest push therefore places greater emphasis on FTA awareness, utilisation and measurable outcomes, with the broader objective of ensuring that India's trade agreements deliver tangible benefits to businesses and strengthen the country's position in global markets.