India’s new trade deal with four European countries kicks off tomorrow, promising big boosts in investments and jobs. The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)—which includes Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway—takes effect on October 1. To make things smoother, the government just launched the India-EFTA Desk, a one-stop hub that helps channel EFTA investments into hot areas like renewable energy, life sciences, engineering, and digital transformation. It also sets up joint ventures, small business team-ups, and tech partnerships.
This marks India’s first free trade agreement with these developed European nations. Under TEPA, EFTA commits to pumping $100 billion into India over the next 15 years, creating a million direct jobs along the way. Right now, India’s exports to EFTA total $72.37 million in 2024, making up just 0.41% of their overall imports. But the deal aims to slash tariff barriers and grow India’s slice of the pie in key commodities, giving a real lift to trade.
TEPA opens doors wider for Indian goods and services in EFTA markets. It beefs up intellectual property rights (IPR), pushes sustainable and inclusive growth, and backs homegrown efforts like Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry highlights that the agreement spans 14 chapters, zeroing in on market access for goods, rules of origin, trade facilitation, investment promotion, services trade, IPR, and sustainable development rules.
On the tariff front, EFTA offers duty-free access for 100% of non-agricultural products and cuts on processed agricultural products (PAP). India carefully guarded sensitive spots tied to its Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, like pharma, medical devices, and processed foods. In return, EFTA agrees to slash tariffs on 92.2% of its import lines, covering 99.6% of India’s exports—that includes full access for non-agri items and breaks on PAP.
India, meanwhile, offers tariff cuts on 82.7% of its lines, hitting 95.3% of EFTA’s exports to the country. More than 80% of those imports are gold, and duties on gold stay the same. India also shields key sectors from big changes, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, processed foods, dairy, soya, coal, and sensitive farm goods.
The deal shines a spotlight on new chances for India in IT, business services, education, cultural and entertainment sectors, and audio-visual work. For IPR, TEPA sticks to World Trade Organization TRIPS standards, with an extra-strong chapter for Switzerland that builds a solid regime. The ministry notes it fully tackles India’s priorities, like protecting generic medicines and blocking patent evergreening tricks.
Overall, this India-EFTA TEPA looks set to supercharge economic ties, blending investment flows with smarter trade rules for long-term wins.
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