India could well be signing multiple FTAs in a very short period of time: Sanjiv Puri

Amid the latest global developments on tariffs, it seems more likely that India could well be signing multiple Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in a very short period of time, according to Sanjiv Puri, president, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Speaking at a CII conference on Wednesday, Puri, ITC Ltd Chairman, said an India-US trade agreement would bring down tariffs and that would essentially make India competitive and open up many more markets as far as the country is concerned.

“The EU (European Union) FTA is very important for India. It has been under discussion for more than two decades. So hopefully this year we should see the culmination of many such FTAs. And, the government is also pushing for an FTA with the US in the context of what we are having on tariffs. I think that is a very good development, and this will bring down tariffs,” Puri said.

Amid US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, India and the European Union have set the year-end deadline to conclude a free trade agreement.

During the recent visit of EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic, the two sides have discussed ways to accelerate efforts towards a balanced and mutually beneficial trade pact.

“We know the growth rates have been tepid. We are also aware that geoeconomics and geopolitics, all that are adversely impacted economic progress. So it was already not a conducive environment, and there is increasing uncertainty on account of certain discussions that are happening as far as tariffs are concerned,” Puri said, adding India was presently also faced with the issue about excess capacities in certain parts of the world that were finding their way into the country at uneconomical prices and also taking away opportunity for potential exports.

Global challenging situation

According to the CII president, amid a global challenging situation, the Indian economy is doing reasonably well on the back of a lot of good policy interventions.

“In any challenge, there are also opportunities. And if you look at what is happening in India, I think it is something that we should all feel good about…of course we would like that (GDP growth rate) to be 7-8 per cent because that is the potential that India has got. But nonetheless, I think in the whole world, India is a beacon of hope and promise. The IMF expects India to contribute 16 per cent to global growth, and this is likely to rise to 18 per cent by 2028,” Puri said while speaking at the event virtually.

There are a lot of good policy interventions, physical infrastructure and digital infrastructure at the both Central and State governments level, he said, pointing out that several sectors, including tourism, financial services, and agriculture, were doing well.

“There are several areas that CII has been highlighting and has been in discussion. Several of our suggestions, of course, found their way into the budgets. But there is, of course, some of these are being initiated and work needs to be done. But just to give you a sense on the policy priorities that we have set up, I think first and foremost, we are saying that investment in physical infrastructure should continue along with fiscal consolidation,” the ITC Chairman said adding the fiscal glide path would hopefully also bring in a regime where interest rates are even more moderate and private investment is going to create more jobs.

“The second piece of our suggestions goes around the next generation of reforms. What are the next generation of deep structural reforms that can make India even more competitive and unlock the potential. And, there are many. There are several areas that we have articulated and we are working towards, be it with judiciary, energy, land, factor markets like labour and so on and so forth,” Puri added.

The Confederation of Indian Industry has elected Shashwat Goenka, Vice Chairman, RP – Sanjiv Goenka Group, as the chairman of CII Eastern Region Council for the year 2025 – 26. Goenka is also the Chairman of Spencer’s Retail and Vice Chairman of CESC, Firstsource Solutions, and director of PCBL Chemical Limited.