The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Oman is expected to come into force from June 1, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.
The pact was signed in December 2025.
"I have had a good meeting with Oman team today and most probably the Oman free trade agreement will come into effect from June 1, 2026," he told reporters here.
1 May 2026
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The Oman team is here to discuss ways to boost trade and investments.
The agreement will provide duty-free access to 98 per cent of India's exports, including textiles, agri, and leather goods in Oman. On the other hand, India will reduce tariffs on Omanese products such as dates, marbles and petrochemical items.
The minister held meeting with Pankaj Khimji, Adviser for Foreign Trade and International Cooperation at Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Oman.
The bilateral trade rose by over 18 per cent year-on-year to USD 10.61 billion in 2024-25 (USD 4 billion and imports USD 6.54 billion).
INDIA-CHILE TRADE PACT: ---------------------------- Goyal said a good free trade agreement can be concluded with Chile, a South American nation, if India gets a favourable deal on critical minerals and mining.
He has held a meeting with Chile's Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Perez Mackenna here along with members of the Chilean delegation.
The Indian minister said there are challenges given the different size of the economies and different scale of opportunities that both countries offer to each other.
"We are trying to bridge that gap through innovative solutions... If we get a good deal around critical minerals and other important mining concessions then may be there is some very good possibility that we should be able to finalise an FTA with Chile," he said.
India and Chile implemented a preferential trade agreement (PTA) in 2006 and are now negotiating to widen its scope for a CEPA.
The CEPA with Chile aims to build upon the existing PTA and seeks to encompass a broader range of sectors, including digital services, investment promotion and cooperation, MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), and critical minerals.
The pact could help India access critical minerals, which are key inputs for electronics, auto, and solar sectors.
According to reports, Chile holds the world's largest lithium reserves and is the top producer of copper.
The bilateral trade between India and Chile is modest. In 2024-25, India's exports to Chile declined 2.46 per cent to just USD 1.15 billion. Imports, however, grew 72 per cent to USD 2.60 billion.
INDIA'S TRADE PACT WITH JAPAN, KOREA, ASEAN: ------------------------------------------------------- Goyal said these agreements were signed and implemented during the Congress regime and the Indian industry is also not happy with these pacts.
He said that while imports from these regions are burgeoning, India's exports are almost flat.
These countries "do not open their markets for our products. Our exports to the Asean region, Japan and Korea, all FTAs done pre-2014, are flat".
"Trade deficit is going by leaps and bounds. So it's time that we started taking action to get good quality stuff. I would urge to take the message of quality seriously, Do not be penny-wise and pound-foolish." India's trade pact with Asean (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) came into force in January 2010, while the agreements with Japan and South Korea became operational in 2011 and 2010, respectively.
The minister has on multiple occasions raised concerns over these trade pacts. All these agreements are under review.
With South Korea, the minister has in fact suggested to start fresh talks for an FTA.
