Commerce Department steps up FTA outreach amid low utilisation

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The State-level workshops are expected to help businesses identify opportunities and understand how to use the FTA provisions

By Amiti Sen

Updated - October 21, 2026 at 07:24 PM. | New Delhi, Oct 21

Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal

The Commerce Department is organising a series of outreach initiatives across the country to improve the utilisation of India’s free trade agreements (FTAs), as it seeks to help exporters, particularly small businesses and MSMEs, take greater advantage of preferential access to overseas markets, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said. 

As part of the ‘Leveraging FTAs – Outreach Programme’, the Commerce Department has lined up State-level workshops, including in Gandhinagar and Mumbai this week, in collaboration with State government agencies to familiarise industries and exporters with the opportunities offered by trade pacts, industry sources said.

“The multiple FTAs concluded in recent years have opened immense opportunities for our exporters. The Modi government’s focus is on ensuring these benefits reach our farmers, workers, women, youth, MSMEs & small businesses, enabling them to take more Made in India products to global markets,” Goyal stated in a social media post on Wednesday.

While these agreements provide preferential access to partner markets, exporters need to understand the tariff concessions available for their products and comply with the relevant rules of origin and documentation requirements to claim the benefits. India’s utilisation of its FTAs has remained low, with many exporters opting to pay full import duties rather than claim preferential tariff benefits, as they find the associated compliance requirements and documentation procedures difficult to navigate.

India’s trade deficit with most of its FTA partners has also been widening, per a Niti Aayog report published in January this year. “India’s trade performance with its FTA partner countries in Q1 FY26 reflected a widening trade deficit, as imports grew faster than exports,” it observed.

State-level workshops

In the last five years, India has implemented FTAs with the UAE, Mauritius, Australia, Oman, the EFTA bloc, the UK and New Zealand. “To help exporters make the most of these opportunities, the Commerce Department is organising dedicated FTA outreach initiatives in collaboration with State governments,” Goyal said.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade is teaming up with the Directorate of Industries in various States to organise the workshop to explain preferential market access and international trade opportunities to industries and exporters across districts. Last week, one such outreach was organised in Jaipur.

The State-level workshops are expected to help businesses identify opportunities under the agreements and understand how to use the provisions to improve their access to international markets. 

“More such initiatives will be organised across the country to help every State unlock its unique export potential, ensure greater utilisation of our FTAs and give fresh momentum to India’s export growth,” Goyal added.

Published on October 21, 2026

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