India Has Signed 9 Trade Pacts in 4 Years and Is Negotiating More: Piyush Goyal

India is rapidly widening its network of free trade agreements to integrate with global economies, empower micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and speed up economic growth, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.

Speaking at the 121st Annual Session of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Goyal said India has concluded nine trade agreements covering 38 developed economies in the past four to four and a half years. “You see world leaders making up the line to engage with India to expand trading relations,” he said.

“OLD PACTS COVERED ONLY $10 TRILLION”

Goyal contrasted the new agreements with those signed before 2014, which he said gave preferential access to a combined global GDP of only $10 trillion. Earlier pacts, he said, often did not put India’s competitive advantage first.

TALKS UNDER WAY

Goyal gave a quick tour of the negotiations. The talks with the UK were completed, he said, and a UK minister arrives on Monday for a Joint Economic Commission. The Canadian minister is expected the same day or on Tuesday, and Goyal said Canada is eager for India to hurry up.

“The UAE and Oman are done,” he said, while the other four Gulf countries have launched negotiations and all six want to conclude an FTA as a group. Talks are on with Israel and Chile, and the process with Mexico will launch next week. “Canada is moving forward rapidly,” he said, and talks are under way with Eurasian and Central Asian countries.

NOT DECIDED “BY GOVERNMENT OFFICES”

Trade deals are no longer finalised only by bureaucrats, Goyal said. Consultation with stakeholders is part of every round. “It’s decided after talking to the industry. It’s decided after talking to farmers. The concerns of fishermen are heard. Keeping in mind the difficulties our MSMEs face and what matters to them,” he said.

That process, he said, protects sensitive domestic sectors while opening up overseas demand. “If we see a sensitive sector, we handle it carefully.”

Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Goyal said India has consistently turned domestic and external disruptions into strategic opportunities. Domestic businesses, he said, are the main drivers of growth, and the ambitions of 1.4 billion people reinforce India’s standing as a reliable international economic partner.

THE NINE AGREEMENTS

The Commerce Ministry counts nine FTAs spanning 38 countries since 2021. They began with Mauritius in 2021, followed by the UAE in May 2022 and Australia in December 2022. The trade agreement with the four-nation EFTA bloc was signed on March 10, 2024 and took effect on October 1, 2025. The UK trade pact was signed in July 2025, and India and Oman concluded theirs in December 2025.

New Zealand concluded in December 2025 and signed in April 2026, and the pact is due to take effect on October 20. The EU deal was concluded on January 27, 2026 and is reported to be due for signing on December 16.

With inputs from ANI