India is pursuing perhaps its most ambitious free trade agenda in decades. In recent years, it has concluded comprehensive trade agreements with the UAE, Australia, the EFTA countries and, most recently, the United Kingdom. Negotiations with the European Union and several other partners are gathering momentum. Collectively, these agreements represent one of the most significant shifts in India’s trade strategy since economic liberalisation.
The agreements have rightly been welcomed. In an increasingly fragmented global economy, countries are diversifying supply chains, reducing strategic vulnerabilities and searching for dependable economic partners. India, with its expanding domestic market, demographic advantage and growing manufacturing capabilities, is well placed to benefit from this realignment. Deeper integration with trusted partners is no longer simply a trade objective. It has become an economic and strategic necessity.
Yet amid the understandable optimism surrounding every new agreement, an important question deserves greater attention. How should we judge the success of India’s new FTAs?
The instinctive answer is to look at tariffs eliminated, markets opened, exports projected or investment promised. These are important metrics and deserve careful scrutiny. But they cannot be the only measures of success. Trade agreements are not ends in themselves. They are instruments for achieving broader economic outcomes. History offers a useful reminder.