India aims for quick-fire trade pacts, shifting strategy as economy revives

 Prime Minister's Office reportedly pushing foreign and commerce ministeries to deliver on initial deals with countries including Australia and the UK

India is racing to wrap up a clutch of quick-fire bilateral trade pacts by the end of March, officials said, as economic necessity spurs a shift from New Delhi’s usual go-slow approach on trade deals.

The shift also means that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is prioritizing “early harvest” pacts over comprehensive free trade agreements with partners, a move that’s leaving some countries perplexed, officials said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private.

Modi’s office is pushing ministries, particularly foreign and commerce, to deliver on initial deals with countries including Australia and the U.K., several officials said. That’s even as India walked away from Asia’s biggest multilateral agreement in 2019 and has shown little interest so far in a Trans-Pacific pact.

For Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, historically wary of being tied down to overseas deals and upsetting its loyal vote base of small traders, the emphasis on one-to-one quick trade deals is a U-turn of sorts after pushing for the need to be self-reliant. The stakes are high politically as Modi looks to revive an economy battered from the pandemic and attract more investment from the U.S. and its allies looking to India as a counterweight to China.

The urgency to wrap up deals swiftly stems from the realization that the window of opportunity to benefit from the realignment of global supply chains may be short lived, according to officials.

New Delhi is currently negotiating bilateral trade agreements with 20 nations and expects to complete half a dozen deals, including those with Australia and Britain by this Christmas and March next year respectively. This push for one-to-one trade agreements with emphasis on early harvest deals instead of comprehensive FTAs has perplexed at least two countries, the officials with knowledge of the talks said, asking not to be identified as talks were ongoing.