As of April 28, 2026, India has signed or concluded trade agreements with the United Kingdom, Oman, New Zealand, the European Union, and the European Free Trade Association but with the UK pact targeting implementation by May 2026 and the Oman CEPA by June 1, the shift from ambition to execution is now weeks away, not years.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has been direct about the timelines. “On June 1, the Oman FTA will be effective. We are trying to operationalise the UK FTA to come into effect on May 1,” he said in recent remarks. Five FTAs in total are targeted for operationalisation in 2026, with the New Zealand pact expected by September and interim terms with the US already in motion. That is an unusually compressed implementation calendar for a country that spent years in the negotiations phase on each agreement.
The approach was always deliberate. Speaking at the Berlin Dialogue in Germany, Goyal summarised India’s negotiating posture plainly: “We do not do deals in a hurry and we do not do deals with deadlines or with a gun to our head.” That caution, calibrated sector-by-sector and designed to retain domestic policy flexibility, has defined India’s trade strategy under Modi 2.0. The question in 2026 is whether the same discipline that produced well-structured agreements can now produce actual trade flows.
The ratification lag and why it matters
Signing a trade deal and implementing one are separate events, separated by legislative and administrative processes that take time. Miren Lodha, Senior Director at Crisil Intelligence, explains, “Typically, after signing, agreements need to be ratified by the respective legislatures. This process generally takes longer for a trade bloc than for a bilateral partner, which is why there is often a lag between announcement and effective market access.”
Agneshwar Sen, Trade Policy Leader at EY India, adds context: “Such gaps are quite typical in international trade agreements, where it often takes one to three years between signing and entry into force. This is especially true for agreements involving multiple jurisdictions or deep regulatory commitments. India’s current pace is broadly in line with global practice.” That means the UK and Oman deals, both bilateral, are moving faster than average. The EU agreement, with its multi-country parliamentary approval requirement, will take longer.
India–UK CETA: 99% tariff-free, due May 2026
The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, signed on July 24, 2025, will grant approximately 99% of Indian exports duty-free access to the British market and is targeted for implementation as early as May 2026.
The sector-level gains are specific and immediate. Textiles and clothing, which previously faced UK tariffs of up to 12%, will see complete liberalisation, enhancing India’s competitiveness against rivals like Bangladesh and Vietnam. Leather and footwear, earlier facing duties as high as 16%, will enjoy zero tariffs. Gems and jewellery, furniture, and sports goods previously subject to duties of up to 4% will benefit from full duty elimination. Processed foods face an even steeper improvement: products that earlier faced tariffs as high as 70% will now see zero duty on 99.7% of tariff lines.
In gems and jewellery alone, the GJEPC projects exports to the UK could grow 34% to $2.45 billion within two years of the deal going live. Engineering goods to the UK currently $4.28 billion against UK imports of $193.52 billion in that category could nearly double to over $7.5 billion by 2029–30. India has in turn agreed to reduce tariffs on British products, most notably cars and whisky, which have historically faced high import duties.
India–Oman CEPA: 100% duty-free from Day One, effective June 1
The India–Oman CEPA, signed in Muscat on December 18, 2025, is Oman’s first bilateral trade agreement since its deal with the United States in 2006 and only India’s second agreement with a Gulf Cooperation Council country, following the UAE pact in 2022.
India secures 100% duty-free market access in Oman across 98.08% of tariff lines, covering 99.38% of India’s exports by value, with all concessions effective from Day One. Bilateral trade stood at $10.61 billion in FY2024–25. Indian exports, which face improved access, include minerals, chemicals, machinery, plastics, textiles, agricultural and marine products, and gems and jewellery competing against suppliers from China, Turkey, Italy, Thailand, and GCC economies.
The Oman deal also contains a notable services dimension: Oman has made commitments across 127 services sub-sectors, including IT, business, education, and health, while the CEPA raises the quota for intra-corporate transferees from 20% to 50% and extends the permitted stay for contractual service suppliers from 90 days to two years. The agreement also allows 100% FDI by Indian companies in major Omani services sectors using Oman, strategically positioned at the mouth of the Gulf, as a base for broader Middle East and Africa expansion.
Who benefits first and who waits
Even with agreements in force, benefits do not flow uniformly. Crisil’s Lodha is direct: “In the near term, the clearest beneficiaries are sectors already exporting but facing a cost or tariff disadvantage versus competing suppliers: readymade garments, leather and footwear, chemicals, and gems and jewellery.”
EY’s Sen adds a structural caution: “In the initial stages, large exporters and established firms are likely to benefit most, as they have the capacity to quickly adapt to new compliance requirements. For MSMEs, benefits are likely to materialise more gradually, often through integration into larger supply chains.” Mitali Nikore, Founder and Chief Economist at Nikore Associates, puts it plainly: “The beneficiaries of the first wave will be those who already export. The MSME sector, which has the most to gain, is also the least prepared. Origin compliance documentation, standards certification, and market knowledge are not problems that sign themselves away when an FTA is concluded.
What the scoreboard looks like now
India’s trade agreement pipeline as of April 28, 2026: the India–UK CETA (signed July 2025, targeting May 2026 implementation); the India–Oman CEPA (signed December 2025, effective June 1, 2026); the India–New Zealand FTA (concluded December 2025, targeting September 2026); the India–EU FTA (finalised January 2026, ratification timeline pending); and the India–EFTA TEPA (already in force). An interim US trade deal is also being operationalised.
The architecture is in place. The test now is whether origin compliance systems, export documentation infrastructure, and MSME readiness can match the pace that the agreements themselves demand.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When will the India–UK FTA come into force?
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has confirmed India is targeting May 1, 2026, for operationalisation of the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), signed on July 24, 2025. Both countries are in the final stages of resolving procedural formalities.
When does the India–Oman CEPA take effect?
June 1, 2026, per Goyal’s official statement. The CEPA was signed in Muscat on December 18, 2025, and delivers 100% duty-free access to Oman for Indian exports from day one across 98.08% of Oman’s tariff lines.
Which sectors benefit most from the India–UK FTA?
Textiles (tariff eliminated from up to 12%), leather and footwear (from 16% to zero), gems and jewellery (from up to 4% to zero), processed foods (from up to 70% to zero on 99.7% of lines), marine products (from up to 20% to zero), and engineering goods. 99% of India’s export tariff lines get zero-duty access.
Why do trade agreements take so long to show results?
Legislative ratification, origin compliance certification, and standards documentation all take time after signing. Experts at CRISIL and EY cite a typical lag of one to three years between signing and effective trade flows, shorter for bilateral deals and longer for multi-country blocs like the EU.
Does the Oman CEPA cover services and professionals, not just goods?
Yes. Oman has committed to market access across 127 service sub-sectors. The quota for intra-corporate transferees has been raised from 20% to 50%, and the permitted stay for contractual service suppliers extended from 90 days to two years. Indian companies can also hold 100% FDI in major Omani services sectors.
What about MSMEs? Will they benefit immediately?
No. Experts are consistent: large, established exporters move first because they already have compliance infrastructure. MSMEs, though the largest potential beneficiaries, face gaps in origin documentation, certification, and market knowledge that take time to close, typically through integration into larger supply chains.
