India pushes $1 Trillion Export Goal with new FTAs and paperless trade push

India’s latest wave of free‑trade agreements – covering the United Arab Emirates, Australia, the United Kingdom, the European Free Trade Association, Oman, New Zealand and the European Union – is being presented as the cornerstone of a drive to lift merchandise exports to about US$1 trillion by 2030. According to Yes Securities, the agreements, combined with production‑linked incentive (PLI) schemes and a “China+1” diversification strategy, could revive private capital spending, improve capacity utilisation and spur manufacturing expansion in sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals and engineering.

At the same time, officials and trade experts say India is ready to advance cross‑border paperless trade. Platforms such as ICEGATE, SWIFT, faceless customs assessment and the proposed BharatTradeNet are cited as evidence of a robust digital trade infrastructure. A policy brief released at the Asia‑Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum highlighted India’s suitability for accession to the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross‑Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (CPTA) and urged the passage of a Trade Facilitation Bill to give legal status to electronic trade documents, improve interoperability with partner countries and support MSMEs.