India and EFTA Trade Pact In Force From October 01

India and EFTA Trade Pact In Force From October 01

The free trade agreement between India and the four-nation European bloc EFTA will come into force on Wednesday, under which New Delhi has received an investment commitment of USD 100 billion in 15 years from the grouping while allowing several products, such as Swiss watches, chocolates and cut and polished diamonds, at lower or zero duties.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. It was signed on March 10, 2024.

Domestic customers will get access to high-quality Swiss products such as watches, chocolates, biscuits, and clocks at lower prices, as India will phase out customs duties under the trade pact on these goods over 10 years.

The bloc committed an investment of USD 100 billion – USD 50 billion within 10 years after the implementation of the agreement and another USD 50 billion in the next five years – which would facilitate the creation of one million direct jobs in India.

There is a provision in the pact, officially known as the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), that if the proposed investments would not come because of some reasons, India can rebalance or suspend the duty concessions to the four countries.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday reiterated that the TEPA will come into force from October 1.

Two state solution is a political game : Faisal Muhammed 

Sectors such as dairy, soya, coal and sensitive agricultural products are kept on the exclusion list, and there will not be any duty concessions on these goods.

TEPA was the 14th trade deal that India has signed with individual countries and regional blocs.

This will be the fifth agreement of the Modi-led government. India signed pacts with Mauritius, the UAE, the UK, and Australia. Talks are at an advanced stage with the US, Oman, the EU, Chile, New Zealand and Peru for FTAs.

EFTA countries are not part of the European Union (EU). It is an intergovernmental organisation for the promotion and intensification of free trade. It was founded as an alternative for states that did not wish to join the European community.

India is negotiating a comprehensive free trade agreement separately with the EU, the 27-nation bloc.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by VoM News staff and is published from the syndicated feed)