India's FTAs need a tailor, not a template

A static template approach undermines the dynamic, context-sensitive evolution that a maturing economy like India requires

- ADITYA SINHA VIJAYASREE RADHAKRISHNAN

ONE OF THE most insidious dangers in modern trade negotiations is the template trap, where concessions granted in one agreement become the framework for all future deals. What starts as one-off flexibility quickly ossifies into precedent, lowering the ceiling for ambition and raising the minimum ask for every negotiating partner. Regulatory leniencies, tariff waivers, or data flow exemptions that were context-specific get copied and pasted into new talks — not because they make economic sense, but because they have become the "norm". Over time, this traps countries in a race to the bottom, shrinking policy space and locking in asymmetries under the guise of consistency. India must resist this drift. Our existing and recently announced free trade agreements (FTAs) must not become a prototype for future negotiations with other geographies.

The recently concluded India-UK FTA is being hailed as a landmark deal. Rightly so. It promises increased trade volumes, improved market access, and a symbolic strengthening of ties with a G7 economy. But if we treat this agreement as a standard model to replicate, especially in negotiations with the European Union (EU), European Free Trade Association, or the US, we risk freezing our trade strategy into a one-size-fits-all mould. This would ignore the diversity of institutional capacities across sectors and the need for differentiated liberalisation paths.

A static template approach undermines the dynamic, context-sensitive evolution that a maturing economy like India requires.