Overview
- The 12th round of CEPA upgrade talks took place in New Delhi from May 25–27, 2026, and both sides agreed to speed up negotiations with a time‑bound objective to conclude an upgrade.
- Officials formally acknowledged India’s widening trade deficit with Korea, measured at roughly $15.35–$15.6 billion in 2025–26, and agreed to address the imbalance within the existing IK CEPA framework.
- Negotiators covered trade in goods and services, rules of origin and origin procedures, investment rules, and sanitary and phytosanitary standards to remove barriers to Indian exports.
- Both governments set up sub‑groups to negotiate new areas including digital trade, supply‑chain cooperation, and strategic industrial cooperation covering semiconductors, batteries and shipbuilding.
- If the upgrade succeeds it could widen market access for labour‑intensive Indian exporters, tighten rules of origin to prevent circumvention, and give Korean firms clearer investment protections in India.