The FTA Paradox

About the Author. Hitesh Sachdev. We wish to place our thanks to Mr. Hitesh Sachdev, Chartered Accountant, passionate about the entire IDT ecosystem who has close to a decade of expertise and is reachable in our own app as well as https://www.linkedin.com/in/cahiteshsachdev/ About the Article. Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are often projected as engines of export growth, competitiveness, and global integration. Yet, beyond the headline tariff reductions and diplomatic optimism lies a more complex reality shaped by utilisation levels, sectoral competitiveness, compliance frictions, and trade imbalances. This note examines India’s experience with FTAs through measurable outcomes, such as utilisation rates, trade balances, and revealed comparative advantage, to assess who truly benefits from these agreements and whether they deliver gains in practice or merely on paper.