India’s Strategic SOP: Mastering Free Trade Negotiations

The Indian government is moving toward finalizing its standard operating procedure, or SOP, for free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations by the end of this year, according to a commerce ministry official.

This internal document aims to standardize the process of negotiating trade agreements, building on previous experiences and best practices. The Commerce Ministry plans to consult 17 other ministries, including Agriculture, Labor and Environment, to get a comprehensive perspective, since negotiating an FTA is by nature a multi-ministerial task.

As part of its ongoing efforts, the ministry organized a ‘Chintan Shivir’, a two-day strategy session focusing on free trade strategies, SOPs and the broader trade vision for 2047. The workshop also discussed challenges such as border carbon adjustments, supply chain. disruptions and the integration of innovative areas such as digital commerce and AI in future agreements.

(With input from agencies.)