India, Oman ink free trade agreement

India and Oman have signed a landmark Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), marking a major step forward in India’s economic engagement with the Gulf region and opening up significant new opportunities for trade, investment and services.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman, with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef formalising the pact. This is the second free trade agreement signed by India in the last six months, after the UK deal, and Oman’s first bilateral trade agreement with any country since 2006.

Here is a look at what the India-Oman CEPA entails and why it matters.

One of the most significant features of the CEPA is the scale of tariff liberalisation offered by Oman. Under the agreement, Oman will provide zero-duty access on 98.08 per cent of its tariff lines, covering 99.38 per cent of India’s exports to Oman by value. Immediate tariff elimination applies to 97.96 per cent of these lines.