Sarkaritel - 13 May 2026
India-Oman free trade agreement set for June 1 rollout, says Piyush Goyal
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the India–Oman free trade agreement (FTA), signed in December 2025, is likely to come into force from June 1, 2026.
The agreement is expected to significantly boost bilateral trade by granting duty-free access to nearly 98 per cent of India’s exports to Oman, including textiles, agricultural products and leather goods. In return, India will lower tariffs on key Omani exports such as dates, marble and petrochemical products.
The announcement came as an Omani delegation visited India to explore avenues for enhancing trade and investment cooperation.
Goyal also highlighted progress in trade discussions with Chile, noting that both sides are working to bridge differences arising from the scale and structure of their economies.
India and Chile are currently negotiating to expand their existing preferential trade agreement into a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aimed at boosting bilateral trade and deepening economic engagement.
The proposed CEPA is expected to cover a wider range of sectors, including digital services, investment, MSMEs and critical minerals.
Chile’s vast reserves of lithium and copper are seen as strategically important for India, particularly for sectors such as electronics, automobiles and solar energy, where access to critical minerals is becoming increasingly vital.
