Four years into the India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the corridor has crossed USD 100 billion in bilateral trade for the second consecutive year — USD 101.25 billion in FY 2025–26 — with non-oil trade now accounting for roughly two-thirds of the total. For manufacturers, logistics operators and investors, CEPA has moved from policy promise to operating reality.
Since the agreement came into force on 1 May 2022, trade activity between India and the UAE has expanded across manufacturing, food processing, logistics, infrastructure, chemicals, renewable energy and technology. Both governments have now set a USD 200 billion bilateral trade target for 2032, alongside the standing goal of lifting non-oil, non-precious-metals trade to USD 100 billion — a figure that current momentum (non-oil trade grew roughly a third year-on-year in the first half of 2025) makes look conservative rather than ambitious.
Growth in Bilateral Trade
The UAE remains one of India’s most important trading partners and the principal gateway for Indian businesses reaching the wider GCC, Africa and Europe. The corridor’s infrastructure is catching up with its volumes: the Virtual Trade Corridor on the MAITRI platform is now operational, digitising customs and trade documentation between the two countries and cutting clearance times and logistics costs across the route.
Tariff preference is only part of what CEPA changed. Customs efficiency, mutual recognition and the institutional machinery around the agreement have lowered the friction cost of using the corridor — which is precisely what turns a treaty into trade.
Manufacturing: Where CEPA Meets Make-in-India
India’s manufacturing sector is the clearest beneficiary of preferential access. Industrial manufacturing, engineering products, pharmaceuticals, food processing, textiles, chemicals, electronics and automotive components all sit inside the agreement’s preferential framework — and on the Indian side, production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, industrial corridors and Special Economic Zones compound the advantage for investors who structure entry correctly. We cover the state-level incentive landscape on our SEZ & Incentives page.
For UAE-based groups, the practical question is rarely whether Indian manufacturing is attractive — it is which entry route (greenfield subsidiary, joint venture or acquisition) lets the CEPA tariff position, the FDI route and the supply-chain design work together rather than against each other.
Logistics and Warehousing: the Corridor’s Hard Assets
Logistics is where corridor growth becomes physical. India’s investment in ports, freight corridors, warehousing and multimodal networks under the National Logistics Policy continues to compress costs — while on the UAE side, Bharat Mart at Jafza adds 2.7 million square feet of retail, warehousing and logistics space linked to Jebel Ali Port, Al Maktoum Airport and Etihad Rail from 2026, purpose-built as a platform for Indian goods reaching GCC, African and European buyers.
For UAE investors, the opportunities concentrate in warehousing, cold chain, industrial parks, port-linked infrastructure and e-commerce logistics — sectors where CEPA-driven volume growth translates directly into asset utilisation.
What This Means for UAE Investors
India’s scale plus the UAE’s connectivity is the corridor’s standing equation, and roughly USD 5 billion of UAE commitments into Indian infrastructure and financial institutions announced around the May 2026 leaders’ meetings show the direction of institutional capital. The execution questions sit at the structuring layer: entry route and FDI conditions on the Indian side, the UAE platform’s role and substance, the tariff and rules-of-origin position under CEPA, and the banking and documentation trail across both jurisdictions — the territory we map on India–UAE CEPA and India–UAE Business Structuring.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the India–UAE CEPA?
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is a bilateral trade agreement in force since 1 May 2022. It reduces or eliminates tariffs across most goods lines, improves services access and streamlines customs procedures between India and the UAE.
How large is India–UAE trade under CEPA?
Bilateral trade reached USD 101.25 billion in FY 2025–26 — the second consecutive year above USD 100 billion — with non-oil trade making up roughly two-thirds. Both governments target USD 200 billion by 2032.
Are CEPA tariff benefits automatic?
No. Preferential treatment depends on product eligibility, correct tariff classification and rules-of-origin compliance, evidenced through certificates of origin. The commercial model should be tested against those requirements before pricing in the benefit.
Which sectors benefit most?
Manufacturing lines (engineering, pharmaceuticals, food processing, textiles, chemicals, electronics, automotive components), logistics and warehousing serving corridor volumes, and services sectors with expanding mutual access.