India and Oman signed a free trade agreement last Thursday. Under this agreement, 98 percent of the goods exported from India to Oman will not be taxed. Trade between the two countries is worth $10.5 billion. This Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed between India and Oman on December 18, is expected to be implemented in the next three months. This will give a boost to many sectors, from textiles to agricultural goods and leather industry. In particular, exports of jewelery from Surat, engineering goods from Pune, textiles from Tiruppur and marine products from Visakhapatnam will get a boost in Oman.
‘Made in India’ shines in Oman
Under this agreement, IT professionals and other business service providers from states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana will also get significant opportunities to increase their exports in Oman. Additionally, brass utensils and metal handicrafts from Moradabad, leather shoes and saddlery from Kanpur-Agra, carpets and home textiles from Bhadohi-Mirzapur, value-added spices from Idukki/Wayanad, some engineering and electronics products from Tirupati, and leather shoes from Vellore-Ambur will get duty-free access.
Trade worth billions of dollars will get a boost
Trade between India and Oman has increased in recent years. Under CEPA, Oman has granted zero-duty access to 98.08 percent of its products, which includes 99.38 percent of India’s exports to Oman. In fiscal year 2025, trade between the two countries was about $10.5 billion, of which India’s exports to Oman were about $4 billion and imports from Oman were $6.5 billion. The elimination of tariffs will benefit all major labour-intensive sectors, including gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, footwear, sporting goods, plastics, furniture, agricultural products, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and automobiles.
Goods will also be sent from these states:
The products that will benefit from this agreement include meat (Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar), eggs (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra), sweet biscuits (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh), and confectionery (Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra). This agreement will also give a big boost to the export of honey from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan and North-Eastern states.
