MC EXCLUSIVE India likely to keep gold out of trade deal with Gulf bloc

India offered tariff concessions on bullion, allowing imports of a specified quota of gold at a 1 percent concessional customs duty.

• India unlikely to offer gold tariff cuts in GCC trade talks
• Gold and silver bullion excluded to protect domestic interests
• India-GCC trade reached $179 billion in FY25

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India is unlikely to offer any tariff concessions on gold in its proposed free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a government source said, signalling a cautious approach toward liberalising trade in precious metals.

“We did not include it in the trade deal with Oman, so it is highly unlikely that we will do so with the GCC,” the person said, requesting anonymity.

In the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman, signed on December 18 in Muscat, India explicitly excluded gold and silver bullion, along with other sensitive items, from the tariff concessions list to protect domestic interests.

India and the six-member GCC, comprising the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, signed the terms of reference earlier this month to formally launch negotiations for a trade agreement, reviving talks that had been dormant for almost two decades.

The terms of reference outline negotiations covering trade in goods and services, investment, customs procedures, technical barriers to trade and dispute settlement mechanisms.

Under the trade agreement with the UAE, tariff concessions on precious metals contributed to a sharp rise in imports, raising concerns over domestic market disruption.

India offered tariff concessions on bullion, allowing imports of a specified quota of gold at a 1 percent concessional customs duty.

This led to a near tripling of gold imports from the UAE, increasing from $5.8 billion in FY22 to nearly $16.8 billion in FY25.

The CEPA between India and the UAE came into effect in May 2022.

Trade policy analysts have flagged that some bullion imports under the India‑UAE CEPA did not meet the strict rules of origin requirements and exploited concessional tariffs, prompting regulatory tightening to curb such misuse.

Bilateral trade between India and the GCC has grown significantly over the years, reaching $179 billion in FY25, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia among New Delhi’s largest partners in the region.

India exports a wide range of goods to the Gulf, including food products, textiles, jewellery, pharmaceuticals, and engineering items, while energy imports such as crude oil, LNG, and LPG form a significant part of the trade.