India-Oman FTA likely from June 1: Goyal
The free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Oman is expected to come into force from June 1, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. The pact was signed in December 2025.
“I have had a good meeting with Oman team today and most probably the Oman free trade agreement will come into effect from June 1, 2026,” he told reporters here.
The Oman team is here to discuss ways to boost trade and investments.
The agreement will provide duty-free access to 98 per cent of India’s exports, including textiles, agri, and leather goods in Oman. On the other hand, India will reduce tariffs on Omanese products such as dates, marbles and petrochemical items.
When asked about his meeting with the Chilean foreign minister here, Goyal said there are challenges given the different sizes of the economies and different scale of opportunities that both countries offer to each other. “We are trying to bridge that gap through innovative solutions.
“If we get a good deal around critical minerals and other important mining concessions, then maybe there is some very good possibility that we should be able to finalise an FTA with Chile,” he said.
India and Chile implemented a preferential trade agreement (PTA) in 2006 and are now negotiating to widen its scope for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
The CEPA with Chile aims to build upon the existing PTA and seeks to encompass a broader range of sectors, including digital services, investment promotion and cooperation, MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), and critical minerals.
The pact could help India access critical minerals, which are key inputs for electronics, auto, and solar sectors.
According to reports, Chile holds the world’s largest lithium reserves and is the top producer of copper.
The bilateral trade between India and Chile is modest. In 2024-25, India’s exports to Chile declined 2.46 per cent to just $1.15 billion. Imports, however, grew 72 per cent to $2.60 billion.
