India eyes global trade expansion after EU pact

India, fresh from sealing its landmark free trade pact with the European Union, is now aggressively expanding negotiations across North America, Latin America, Africa, the Gulf, and Oceania. Chief negotiator Darpan Jain said New Delhi’s strategy aims to cover “almost the entire world.”

Washington: Fresh from concluding its landmark free trade agreement with the European Union, India is pursuing an ambitious strategy to expand its network of trade agreements across North America, Latin America, Africa and the Gulf, with negotiations already underway or planned with several major economies, the country’s chief trade negotiator has said. 

Speaking at an event hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Darpan Jain, India’s Chief Negotiator for the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, said New Delhi’s trade strategy now aims to deepen commercial ties across virtually every major region of the world. 

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“Broadly, our intent is to cover the entire world,” Jain said. “Hands are full. The table is full. Mind space is full. So we are all working with all efforts to try and diversify our relations, expand our partnerships, and enhance trade.” 

Jain said India has already covered “almost 50 per cent of global trade and 50 per cent of global economy” through the countries with which it has negotiated trade agreements over the past five years. 

The focus is now shifting to regions where India has relatively limited trade agreements. 

In North America, India is negotiating a free trade agreement with Canada, while discussions have also been initiated with Mexico. In Latin America, New Delhi is negotiating with Chile and Peru and has begun discussions with the Mercosur bloc to expand its existing Preferential Trade Agreement.

“We intend to expand that,” Jain said of Mercosur, adding that Latin America remains a key region where India wants to strengthen its trade presence.

India is also intensifying its engagement with West Asia. Jain said the country already has trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Oman and is now holding discussions with Qatar, the Gulf Cooperation Council and other countries in the region. 

Africa is another priority. India is negotiating with the Southern African Customs Union and Kenya as it seeks to broaden its economic engagement across the continent. 

Looking east, Jain said India has already established trade agreements with several important partners, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and ASEAN member states. In Oceania, New Delhi has recently concluded agreements with Australia and New Zealand.

The comments came just months after India and the European Union concluded what has been described as one of the world’s largest bilateral trade agreements, linking economies representing nearly two billion people.

Jain described the EU agreement as one of India’s most ambitious trade pacts and said it reflected a strong political commitment to expand market access and strengthen India’s integration into global trade.

“There is a strong political commitment to expand India’s trade relationship with other countries, expand market access to other countries, and reduce the disadvantages which our exporters face,” he said.

He said the renewed emphasis on trade agreements reflects a broader shift in India’s economic outlook, with greater openness to imports alongside efforts to increase exports and make Indian businesses more competitive globally.

The European Union is following a similar strategy. Christophe Kiener, the EU’s chief negotiator, said Brussels has already achieved preferential trade coverage for roughly half of its trade and is now concentrating on completing agreements in the Indo-Pacific, including negotiations with Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, while also pursuing talks with the United Arab Emirates.