AN ASSESMENT OF THE RECENT FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS BY INDIA

LAW

A Free Trade Agreement is an agreement which happens either on bilateral or multilateral levels between countries in order to reduce trade barriers in transactions happening across borders. These agreements, by nature, generally deal with determination of the tariffs and duties imposed if imports, exchange rates and subsidies on certain goods, absence or relaxation of trade restrictions, trade protectionism and economic isolationism. This acts as a mutual agreement facilitating the countries involved by taking into account, the interest of all the parties. The Republic of India has viewed Free Trade Agreements as a vital tool to enhance important trade and investments and has entered into FTAs with a number of countries across the world. India stands as one of the leading countries in Asia in terms of pro posing, negotiating and signing FTAs. Leaving apart the FTAs which are being negotiated and deliberated upon, India has already signed 13 FTAs with the most recent ones being India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Co-operation and Partnership agreement, India-UAE Comprehensive Partnership Agreement and India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. Our state has signed a few limited coverage Preferential Trade Agreements on both bilateral and multilateral levels. As per the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, which is assigned with the mammoth task of analysing the performance and success index of these FTAs, several economic impact assessments (both qualitative and quantitative) which were conducted till date on a periodic basis report that transaction in terms of import and export has significantly increased with almost all the FTA partners.

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