​Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), or treaties between two or more nations designed to reduce barriers to trade and investment, are not new to India. New Delhi has signed 13 such pacts in the last five decades, with the primary ones being with countries and blocs in the east — for instance Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In 2019, New Delhi opted out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership at the last moment, mainly due to concerns over China’s undue benefits out of the proposed pact.