India should now focus on FTA implementation, utilisation by exporters: Experts

India’s next priority on the free trade agreement (FTA) front should be practical implementation and helping exporters use these pacts, as the gap between the negotiated and used market access remains the country’s weakest link, experts say. They said that historically, India’s FTA utilisation has hovered around 25 per cent, compared with 70-80 per cent in developed economies, and closing this gap is now the single highest-leverage trade policy reform available. The immediate priority should be to ensure that these negotiated benefits translate into actual claims at the border, they added. “Hence, India’s next FTA priority should be practical implementation,…