India has signed 10 Free Trade Agreements and 5 limited Preferential Trade Agreement (PTAs). India is negotiating 18 FTAs, including expansion / review of some of the existing FTAs.

Evaluation of the impact of FTAs is a continuous process which starts even before FTA negotiations are entered into. Before entering into negotiations with its trading partners, studies are undertaken internally, as well as through the Joint Study Group (JSG) to study the feasibility of the proposed FTAs, including their impact on the domestic industries and agricultural sector. The JSG report, on the basis of which FTA negotiations are launched, is made available on the Departments of Commerce website (http://commerce.gov.in). In order to protect the interest of the domestic industries and agricultural sector, these agreements provide for maintaining sensitive/negative lists of items on which limited or no tariff concessions are granted under the FTA. In addition, in case of a surge in imports and injury to the domestic industry, a country is allowed to take recourse to measures such as anti-dumping and safeguards. Every FTA has a Joint Review Mechanism to monitor the implementation of the FTA.

The information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dr. D. Purandeswari in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Free trade agreement safeguards: domestic measures permitted including anti-dumping and safeguards to address import surges. Pre agreement feasibility and sectoral impact studies are undertaken internally and through a Joint Study Group (JSG), whose reports inform FTA negotiations and are published; FTAs include sensitive/negative lists limiting tariff concessions, preserve rights to anti-dumping and safeguards against import surges and injury, and establish a Joint Review Mechanism to monitor implementation and address impacts.