The Centre has signed free trade agreements with 38 countries, including the UAE, Australia, the UK, Oman, the European Union and New Zealand, Patil said in a statement. A deal with the United States is expected to be finalised soon.
The agreements are expected to boost the national GDP and open markets for Karnataka’s electronics and electrical products, agri and food products, textiles and garments, marine products, engineering goods, and pharmaceuticals and herbal products.
The push comes amid strong investment momentum. The state drew foreign direct investment worth $12,939 million last financial year, the second-highest among Indian states.
Patil pointed to policies in IT, biotechnology, startups, aerospace, electric vehicles, textiles, green energy and semiconductors. Karnataka ranks fourth nationally in merchandise exports and accounts for 40 per cent of the country’s software and services exports. Global firms such as Foxconn, Lam Research, Applied Materials and Tata Advanced Systems have set up operations in the state, creating openings for local suppliers.
“We must now leverage the FTAs to expand our access to international markets,” Patil said.
The state-level workshop on leveraging the benefits of the agreements was organised by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in Bengaluru, the Visvesvaraya Trade Promotion Centre (VTPC) Karnataka and the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). More than 200 entrepreneurs, exporters and district industries officials attended.
Industries department principal secretary S Selvakumar, Dr Tamanna Chaturvedi, trade advisor at the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), commissioner for industrial development S Khusboo Chaudhary and deputy director general Arjun Upadhya were among those present.