India-EFTA trade pact to be implemented from October 1, says Piyush Goyal

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday (July 19) that the free trade agreement between India and the four-nation grouping European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will be implemented from October 1.

"India-EFTA TEPA to come into effect from 1st October," stated Goyal in a post on X.

Trade pact signed on March 10, 2020

The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) was signed between India and EFTA on March 10, 2020. Under the pact, the EFTA has committed an investment of $ USD 100 billion in 15 years in India. New Delhi, on the other hand, will allow several products, such as Swiss watches, chocolates, and cut and polished diamonds, at lower or zero duties, reported PTI.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Out of them, Switzerland is the biggest trading partner for India in the bloc.

This is a first-of-its-kind pledge agreed upon in any of the trade deals signed by India so far.

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16 years in the making

The commitment is the key substance of the agreement, which took almost 16 years to conclude, for India in return for opening its markets for several products coming from the EFTA nations.

According to media reports, India is offering 82.7 per cent of its tariff lines or product categories, which cover 95.3 per cent of EFTA exports, of which more than 80 per cent of imports are gold.

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Access to Swiss products

They further stated that after it comes into effect, the pact would allow Indian consumers 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.

As for the service sector, the Commerce Ministry had earlier announced that India has offered 105 sub-sectors to the EFTA, like accounting, business services, computer services, distribution and health.

On the other hand, the country has secured commitments in 128 sub-sectors from Switzerland, 114 from Norway, 107 from Liechtenstein, and 110 from Iceland.

Segments, where Indian services will get a boost, include legal, audio-visual, R&D, computer, accounting, and auditing.

Also Read: India, EU free trade agreement nears completion: Piyush Goyal

Access to EU markets

The pact would also provide domestic exporters a lucrative opportunity to get access to European Union markets. Over 40 per cent of Switzerland's global services exports are to the EU.

Indian companies can look to Switzerland as a base for extending their market reach to the EU, reported PTI. India-EFTA two-way trade was USD 24.4 billion in 2024-25.

(With agency inputs)