New Delhi, June 1: The India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) came into effect on Monday, with expectations that India’s exports to Oman will increase by 50% over the next three years.
The agreement aims to raise India’s exports from last year’s $4.06 billion to $6 billion, with a mid-term target of reaching $10 billion. Oman has offered zero-duty access on 98.08% of its tariff lines, covering 99.38% of India’s exports to Oman. Key sectors benefiting from this agreement include labor-intensive industries such as gems and jewelry, textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods, plastics, furniture, engineering, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and automobiles.
In return, India has proposed liberalization on 77.79% of its total tariff lines, which represents 94.81% of imports from Oman by value. For sensitive products critical to Oman’s exports and sensitive for India, the offer is primarily based on tariff rate quotas (TRQ).
To protect its interests, India has excluded sensitive products from the agreement without any concessions. This includes agricultural products such as dairy, tea, coffee, rubber, and tobacco, as well as gold and silver jewelry, labor-intensive goods like footwear and sports equipment, and various base metal scraps.
The CEPA was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Muscat last December. This agreement is also expected to benefit India’s service sector, which holds a significant share of the economy. Oman’s service sector imports amount to $12.52 billion, indicating vast opportunities for Indian service companies.
In addition to Oman, India is negotiating bilateral trade agreements with several other countries. India signed similar agreements with the UK in July 2025 and with New Zealand in April 2026. Furthermore, negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union were completed on January 27 of this year, and discussions for a bilateral agreement with the United States are ongoing.
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