“FTA Fatigue: When Market Access Becomes a Mirage”

By Dr Hans Seesaghur

International Affairs Specialist and Sinologist

Former China Chief Representative at the Mauritius Economic Development Board Representative Office in Shanghai

Former Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of Mauritius in Beijing

Over the past two decades, Mauritius has actively pursued bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to diversify its export markets, attract foreign investment, and integrate into global value chains. These include the Preferential Trade Agreement with Pakistan (PTA), the FTA with Turkey, the FTA with China (MCFTA) and the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with India. Most recently, Mauritius has signed and ratified a bilateral FTA with the United Arab Emirates (CEPA), adding another major economy to its portfolio of trade partners.

In theory, these agreements provide Mauritian exporters preferential access to large consumer markets, offering opportunities for growth in sectors like textiles, agro-processing, seafood, and financial services. Yet, despite the promising frameworks and government optimism, these FTAs have yielded underwhelming results. Export volumes remain stagnant or have declined in some sectors, market diversification remains limited, and investor confidence has not grown in line with expectations.

Current State of Mauritius’ Bilateral FTAs

Mauritius has long named itself as a gateway between Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, branding its growing network of bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as a key competitive advantage. Among the most notable are the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with India and the Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement (MCFTA), both of which represent the first FTAs signed by India and China, respectively, with an African country.

Despite the establishment of these strategic trade instruments, Mauritius’ exports remain heavily concentrated on a few traditional markets such as the European Union, the United Kingdom and South Africa, with limited product diversification. From 2019 to 2023, exports to key FTA partner countries, namely India, China and Turkey, have remained modest in volume and impact.

Notably, in 2021, amidst the global disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mauritius achieved a historic milestone in its trade with China, recording its highest level of domestic exports in value to the country, a first since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972. This peak was not driven by re-exports or circumstantial flows, but reflected a genuine increase in locally-produced goods reaching the Chinese market.

In contrast, exports to India reached their highest level in value in 2023, but this was largely attributed to re-exports rather than domestic production, underscoring the limitations in local capacity utilization and integration into India’s value chains.

The recently ratified CEPA with the United Arab Emirates, which entered into force on April 2, 2025, may follow a similar path unless structural reforms, capacity-building, and targeted support mechanisms are put in place to enable Mauritian producers and exporters to seize the full benefits offered by this trade agreement.

Why Mauritius’ Bilateral FTAs Are Underperforming

One of the most fundamental shortcomings in Mauritius’ approach to Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) lies in the lack of adequate market research conducted within partner countries prior to finalizing Free Trade Agreements. This gap is particularly evident in the cases of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with India and the Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement (MCFTA). Despite taking nearly two decades to be ratified, there remains a striking disconnect between the agreements on paper and a practical understanding of market dynamics. This reveals a deeper issue, a persistent mismatch between the theoretical market access provisions negotiated in FTAs and the actual readiness of Mauritian firms to leverage them effectively.

Building on this, the challenge becomes even clearer when examining the capacity of local businesses. Although FTAs technically open up new markets, many Mauritian enterprises are not adequately equipped to seize these opportunities. Most notably, they lack the scale, product diversification, and compliance capabilities required to meet the rigorous export standards of larger economies. The absence of internationally recognized certifications, limited awareness of foreign technical standards such as phytosanitary rules, and underdeveloped distribution networks continue to hamper Mauritius’ ability to gain meaningful entry into key FTA markets.

Furthermore, this problem is magnified by structural imbalances between Mauritius and its major trading partners. When Mauritius opens its market to economic giants like India and China, it is often exposed to a surge of low-cost imports that local producers cannot compete with. In contrast, exporting Mauritian goods to those same markets remains increasingly difficult, due to complex regulatory frameworks, non-tariff barriers, and fierce competition from entrenched regional and global players.

In addition to these economic asymmetries, there is a significant institutional weakness in the post-agreement phase. While Mauritius has proven capable of negotiating and signing trade agreements, there is often a lack of targeted follow-up, especially in the areas of niche export promotion, compliance support, and market intelligence. This is further undermined by poor coordination among key stakeholders, including ministries, the national trade and investment promotion agency, the Chamber of Commerce, and the private sector. As a result, implementation tends to be fragmented and inconsistent, weakening the potential benefits of the agreements.

Moreover, logistical barriers continue to hinder trade performance. Many of Mauritius’ FTA partners are located far away, and limited shipping connectivity, high freight costs, and customs inefficiencies reduce the practical viability of accessing these markets. Even with duty-free or preferential access, the cost and complexity of logistics diminish the competitiveness of Mauritian exports.

At the core of these issues lies a more fundamental constraint: Mauritius’ narrow export base. The economy remains heavily dependent on a handful of traditional sectors, primarily textiles, sugar, and seafood. While FTAs offer opportunities across a wider range of product categories, Mauritius simply lacks the production capacity and innovation ecosystem to capitalize on them. Without a deliberate push to broaden and diversify the export portfolio, even the most favourable trade terms will fall short of delivering transformative outcomes.

What Should Be Done: A Business-Oriented Reform Agenda

To reverse the underperformance of its FTAs, Mauritius must adopt a more strategic, pragmatic, and business-centric approach. The starting point is the development of sector-specific export strategies tailored to each trade agreement. Rather than spreading resources thinly across numerous products, Mauritius should identify and promote high-potential niche products that align with demand in specific partner markets aligned with the respective FTA.

A compelling example of this approach was seen in 2021, when Mauritius, through its national trade and investment promotion agency’s antenna in Shanghai, identified two niche products specifically for the Chinese market. Rather than pursuing a broad export agenda, policy and promotional efforts were deliberately concentrated on these two high-quality products. This targeted initiative was undertaken under exceptionally challenging circumstances within a Mandarin-speaking business environment and at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when both Mauritius and China had imposed strict border closures and sanitary protocols. Notably, no trade missions were conducted in either direction throughout the year.

Yet despite these constraints, the focused strategy yielded measurable success. By the end of 2021, the two selected products had risen to the top of Mauritius’ domestic exports to China, marking the first time since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972 that such a milestone was achieved.

This case study highlights the importance of strategic focus, in-depth market knowledge, cultural and linguistic familiarity, meticulous preparation, and sustained execution. It demonstrates that even amid global disruptions, meaningful export gains are achievable when priorities are clearly defined and resources are aligned with the trade opportunities enabled by a Free Trade Agreement in force.

Such successes can be replicated and adapted to each region where Mauritius has an FTA, starting from the initial stages of market engagement. Rather than dispersing resources across a broad range of products, Mauritius should adopt a phased and targeted approach, focusing first on a small selection of high-potential products tailored to the specific demand patterns, regulatory environments, and distribution systems of each partner country.

By gradually building market presence and strengthening local brand recognition through consistency and specialization, more Mauritian products can enter foreign markets over time. This approach not only enhances export performance, but also allows for better resource allocation, more effective public-private collaboration, and deeper market intelligence gathering, ensuring that trade agreements deliver tangible and sustainable benefits to Mauritian businesses.

Furthermore, Mauritius must invest in user-friendly digital tools to support businesses in leveraging FTAs. A centralized online portal offering guidance on tariff schedules, rules of origin, export procedures, and real-time assistance can significantly enhance FTA usage. Supplementary training programs and workshops targeting SMEs and sector-specific associations can raise awareness and build confidence.

From FTA Optimism to FTA Realism

The recently ratified CEPA with the UAE brings long-standing issues into sharp focus. While the UAE, with its direct shipping and air freight connections, can unlock the re-export potential, the risk of repeating past mistakes remains high. The UAE’s ambition is to raise non-oil bilateral trade from US$209.8 million to US$500 million in five years, including a fourfold increase in UAE exports to Mauritius. This raises a critical question: What are Mauritius’ ambitions in return? Without a clear, proactive, and business-driven agenda, Mauritius risks repeating past mistakes, missed opportunities, underutilized market access, and limited gains for the private sector.

Thus, the shortcomings of earlier FTAs, including lack of market readiness, poor follow-up, and limited sector targeting, must not be allowed to carry over. For CEPA and future agreements to deliver real value, Mauritius must bridge the gap between access and outcomes through a deliberate shift in strategy. This means prioritizing quality over quantity in trade negotiations. New FTAs must be backed by rigorous economic assessments, inclusive stakeholder consultations, and safeguard mechanisms to protect vulnerable industries. With the UAE, success hinges on a clearly defined roadmap: one that sets out priority export sectors, investment incentives, and practical cooperation mechanisms.

At its core, an FTA is a tool, an architecture, but not a guarantee. Mauritius must now move from FTA optimism to FTA realism, anchored in bold reforms, stronger institutions, and smart, forward-looking diplomacy. Only then can these agreements unlock their full potential market access and truly serve as engines of sustainable economic growth.