Services trade provisions in India's Free Trade Agreements: A scoping review of ECTA, CEPA, and Bilateral CEPAs with Japan and South Korea

Abstract

The growing significance of services in the global economy, driven by the expansion of global value chains and advances in information and communications technology, has made services trade provisions a central element of modern free trade agreements (FTAs). This paper examines the services-related provisions embedded in four of India's recently concluded FTAs, namely the India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), the India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the India–Japan CEPA, and the India–South Korea CEPA, through a scoping review methodology. Drawing on primary agreement texts and secondary literature sourced from Google Scholar, EBSCO, and ProQuest databases, the study maps commitments across eleven key service sectors, including information and communications technology, financial services, professional services, education, health, and transportation. The analysis evaluates the depth and breadth of market access commitments, the treatment of rules of origin, mutual recognition agreements, and the regulatory frameworks governing the movement of natural persons. Findings indicate that while India has progressively deepened its services liberalization commitments, particularly through the mixed scheduling approach introduced in ECTA, structural impediments, including high Services Trade Restrictiveness Index scores, non-tariff barriers, and inadequate enforcement mechanisms, continue to constrain realized trade gains. The paper concludes by identifying policy directions for enhancing the effectiveness of India's FTA engagements in the services sector, with particular attention to regulatory coherence, rules of origin design, and alignment with GATS disciplines.