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India signs 100 billion USD free trade deal with EFTA
India will lift import tariffs for several industrial products in return for a 15-year investment-plan.
FILE PHOTO: A man counts Indian currency notes inside a shop in Mumbai, India, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
India has signed a 100 billion USD free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and will lift most import tariffs on industrial products from these countries in return for the investment over 15 years.
The deal signed on Sunday will see investments across a range of Indian sectors, including pharmaceuticals, machinery and manufacturing.
EFTA is comprised of four European countries
The EFTA comprises Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, all non-European Union nations, that will get access to a fast-growing market of 1.4 billion people. In the last two years, India has signed trade agreements with Australia and officials say a deal with the United Kingdom is in the final stages as Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to hit 1 trillion USD in annual exports by 2030.
India will lift, or partially remove, customs duties on 95.3% of industrial imports from Switzerland, excluding gold, either immediately or over time, the Swiss government said in a statement. Under the agreement, Indian agricultural exporters will enjoy liberalised trade rules in the form of tariff concessions in the European bloc. Professionals will also be able to take up jobs in the EFTA zone, officials said.
The pact needs to be ratified to take effect
The pact covers some new elements such as intellectual rights and gender equity. The five must ratify the deal before it can take effect.
The signing comes ahead of India’s general elections, due by May, in which Modi will seek a third term.
India is EFTA’s fifth-largest trading partner after the EU, the United States, the UK and China, with total two-way trade of 25 billion USD in 2023. Formed in 1960 as a counterweight to the EU, the EFTA has signed about 30 trade agreements with some 40 countries and territories outside the EU.
