Examine how Free Trade Agreements can be leveraged to promote Indian clean energy equipment exports.

India is the world's fourth-largest wind power capacity holder, at 56.09 GW as of March 2026, with a record 6.05 GW added in 2025-26 [1]. Yet its clean energy manufacturing remains domestically oriented. FTAs, if negotiated with manufacturing intent rather than only market access, can convert this scale into export competitiveness.

Tariff and market access

• The India-EU FTA, concluded in January 2026, eliminates or reduces tariffs on 90% of goods and creates a platform for trade-related climate cooperation [2] — a direct opening for turbines, modules and balance-of-system equipment.
• Industry has sought reciprocal access in Europe and North America, arguing Indian exporters lack like-for-like entry compared with competitors selling into India [3].

Correcting cost asymmetry

• India remains cost-uncompetitive against China's subsidised, fully-integrated wind ecosystem [3]. FTAs cannot fix this alone; they must pair with domestic support.
• IWTMA has asked MNRE for an export-linked incentive and a PLI-type scheme for flanges and large bearings, currently import-dependent forging components [3] — mirroring the ₹24,000 crore National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules [4].

Rules-of-origin and standards

• Deep localisation of components is what lets exporters clear rules-of-origin thresholds and claim preferential tariffs — linking industrial policy to trade policy.
• Mutual recognition of testing and certification, plus alignment on carbon-accounting norms, reduces non-tariff friction that tariff cuts alone leave untouched.

Supply-chain and investment channel

• FTA-linked green finance and technology partnerships support the 500 GW non-fossil capacity target by 2030 [5], while diversifying global supply chains away from single-source dependence.

FTAs are therefore an enabling instrument, not a substitute for competitiveness: their gains accrue only where domestic value addition, component depth and export finance are simultaneously built. India should sequence component-level incentives alongside FTA implementation, and use the EU partnership's climate-cooperation platform to embed clean-tech supply-chain resilience — turning a 500 GW domestic commitment into a durable export franchise.