India Signs TEPA with four European Countries; Swiss Eye Dairy Markets

On 10 Mar, India signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). EFTA members are Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The deal brings in $100 billion in investment over 15 years, with the EFTA looking at joint ventures that will help India diversify imports away from China. Under the EFTA, India will lift or partially remove customs tariffs on 95.3% of industrial imports from Switzerland (excluding gold) either immediately or with transition periods. India runs a trade deficit with most of its top trade partners, except for the US. This is also true in the case of FTAs that India has signed in the past, especially with ASEAN nations. While the ASEAN FTA did help India secure intermediate products, India’s increasing average tariffs @18% have meant that India’s FTA partners have better access to the Indian market after tariff elimination. Switzerland said it will get duty-free access to the Indian market for selected agricultural products after a transition period of up to ten years. Switzerland's concessions to India for agricultural products are based on previous free trade agreements and are in line with Swiss agricultural policy. Swiss watches, pharmaceuticals and chocolate are much in demand but its agricultural revenue is based on machinery, cattle, and dairy products. For both of these, north India, especially Panjab and Haryana are chief destinations. While the India-EFTA trade deal has been inked, major deals such as India’s FTA with the UK and EU still run the risk of political uncertainty because of general elections in 68 nations worldwide this year.