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FTA Policy

The Government Is Looking for Solutions. We Built One.

2026-06-09 · 4 min read · By Provenance

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On May 10, 2026, India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal convened a series of meetings with industry associations, businesses, and Export Promotion Councils on ways to increase utilisation of India's Free Trade Agreements. The meetings were part of a broader government exercise involving Indian missions abroad, line ministries, and chief trade negotiators.

The timing is significant. Since 2021, India has finalised trade agreements with Mauritius, Australia, the UAE, the UK, the EFTA bloc, the European Union, New Zealand, and Oman. These agreements collectively cover 38 countries whose combined global imports stand at approximately $12 trillion. India's goods and services exports reached an all-time high of $863 billion in 2025-26.

The agreements are signed. The export numbers are growing. And yet the government has identified utilisation as the single most important lever left to pull.

This is not a new observation. Trade economists have noted for years that the gap between market access negotiated and market access actually used is India's most persistent trade policy challenge. What is new is the priority being placed on solving it at the ministerial level, with all line ministries involved and Indian missions abroad activated as part of the exercise.

The government's approach will focus on awareness, standards alignment, and removing non-tariff barriers. These are the right priorities for policy. But policy operates at the level of agreements, notifications, and frameworks. It does not file documentation. It does not manage the compliance requirements of a specific shipment on a specific date.

That is where private sector infrastructure matters.

Provenance works with Indian exporters to navigate the compliance requirements of every active trade agreement. Our team handles the process from eligibility through to issued documentation on every shipment. We stay current with every regulatory update so our clients do not have to.

The government is building the framework. We are already operational within it.

Get in touch with our team to begin your assessment.