Indian Goods May Get Duty-Free Access To Turkiye via EU: GTRI

New Delhi, Jan 30 (KNN) India has received an unintended trade advantage from its free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), as Indian goods can enter Turkiye with duty concessions, while Turkish products cannot use the same route to access the Indian market, according to think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

The EU and Turkiye are linked through a customs union that covers most industrial goods and certain processed agricultural products. 

Under this arrangement, goods move freely between the EU and Turkiye without tariffs or quotas, and Turkiye applies the EU’s common external tariff on imports from non-EU countries.

GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said, "India goods can enter Turkiye duty free via the EU using the FTA route but Turkish Goods cannot use the India-EU FTA route and must pay an applicable Indian tariff for entering India."

GTRI explained that when Indian goods enter the EU under the India–EU FTA, they can subsequently move into Turkiye without additional duties due to the EU–Turkiye customs union. This effectively gives Indian exporters indirect access to the Turkish market via the EU.

However, the reverse does not apply. Turkish goods cannot enter India duty-free using the India–EU FTA, even if they transit through EU ports. Under the agreement’s rules of origin, only goods originating in the EU qualify for preferential access to the Indian market, and Turkiye is not a party to the pact.

(KNN Bureau)