India is aggressively expanding its foreign trade through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), highlighted by the nearing completion of an interim trade deal with the United States and the implementation of the comprehensive India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized that these deals center on securing a reciprocal comparative advantage to give Indian exporters market access over global competitors. However, structural domestic inefficiencies continue to limit India’s overall benefits from historical trade pacts. Sluggish manufacturing growth, lack of persistent investment in science and technology institutions, and unaddressed agricultural compliance gaps challenge India’s capacity to serve these export markets. Furthermore, complex non-tariff measures (NTMs) from advanced economies, such as the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and strict phytosanitary regulations, require immediate technical upgrades across domestic production facilities to prevent high compliance costs from eroding India’s international competitiveness.