The India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) comes into force beginning today and is expected to boost merchandise exports from India by improving market access for key sectors, including textiles and chemicals.

The implementation is expected to further deepen economic engagement, enhance supply chain integration and create new opportunities for trade, investment and services cooperation between the two sides.

Indian exporters now have duty-free access across 98.08 per cent of Oman's tariff lines, covering 99.38 per cent of India's export value.

The trade pact will benefit labour-intensive sectors like textiles and apparel, leather and footwear.

Increased textiles exports to Oman will boost production and create jobs across major textile clusters including Surat, Tirupur, Ludhiana, Panipat and Coimbatore. Artisans and weavers across India will also gain from higher international demand for their products.

This will also created numerous jobs in major leather and footwear hubs across India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, as well as parts of Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

Several Indian products will enjoy immediate duty-free access to the Oman market. Oman has also agreed to provide 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) access for Indian companies in key services sectors.

India has agreed to extend concessions to petrochemicals.

India imported goods worth $7.2 billion from Oman in fiscal 2025-26.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)