India, EFTA sign free trade agreement

New Delhi. India and the four-nation European bloc EFTA on Sunday signed a free trade agreement, under which New Delhi has received investment commitments of US $ 100 billion over the next 15 years to facilitate the creation of one million jobs. .The members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The agreement was signed after a gap of almost 16 years, with negotiations beginning in 2008, but being halted in November 2013. Negotiations resumed in October 2016, and 21 rounds of talks were held before its conclusion. For the first time in the history of a FTA (Free Trade Agreement), made a legal commitment to promote target-oriented investment and job creation Under the agreement, almost all domestic industrial goods will get duty-free access to EFTA countries, besides duty concessions on processed agricultural products.

Switzerland, India’s major trading partner in the grouping, has already removed tariffs on almost all industrial goods since January this year. India, on the other hand, is offering tariffs across 82.7 per cent of its tariff lines or product categories, covering 95.3 per cent of EFTA exports. Over 80 per cent of imports are gold. On gold, India has not touched the effective customs duty (which is 15 per cent) but has reduced the customs rate by one per cent to 39 per cent. In the language of international trade, bound and applicable rates are used. While bound tariff or duty refers to the cap, applicable tariff is the duty, which is currently in force. India will also provide duty concessions on certain PLI (production linked incentives) sectors like pharma, medical devices and processed food. While extending the offer The sensitivities associated with these sectors have been kept in mind. Sectors like dairy, soya, coal and sensitive agricultural products have been placed in the exclusion list, which means there will be no duty concessions on these items. The Commerce Ministry said that the In the sector, India has offered 105 sub-sectors to EFTA such as 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. The sectors in which Indian services will get a boost include legal, audio-visual, R&D, computer, Includes accounting and auditing. TEPA (Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement) Export of our services in our key areas of strength/interest such as IT services, business services, personal, cultural, sports and recreational services, other education services and audio-visual services Further commitments related to intellectual property rights in TEPA are at the TRIPS (trade-related aspects of IPR) level. The IPR chapter with Switzerland, where there are high standards for IPR, reflects our strong IPR regime. It is stated that India’s interests in generic medicines and concerns related to perpetuity of patents have been fully addressed.

It also said that this agreement will empower Indian exporters to access specialized inputs and create a favorable trade and investment environment. This will boost exports of Indian made goods and also provide opportunities for the services sector to reach more markets. .TEPA will also provide the opportunity to integrate into EU markets. More than 40 percent of Switzerland’s global services exports are to the European Union (EU). Indian companies can look to Switzerland as a base to expand their market access to the EU. Will also facilitate technology collaboration and access to world-leading technologies in energy, innovation and R&D.After the signing of the agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described the signing as a “watershed moment”, because This is India’s first modern trade agreement with the group of developed countries. He said that for the first time in any trade agreement, EFTA has committed to invest US$ 100 billion in the next 15 years.

The agreement will take about a year to be implemented. The agreement has 14 chapters, including trade in goods, rules of origin, intellectual property rights (IPR), trade in services, investment promotion and cooperation, government procurement, technical barriers to trade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the signing of the trade agreement between India and the four-nation European bloc EFTA is a “watershed moment” as it symbolizes a shared commitment to open, fair and equitable trade. EFTA countries gain access to a major growth market. Our companies strive to diversify their supply chains, making them more flexible. In return, India will attract more foreign investment from EFTA,” said Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin, speaking on behalf of EFTA member states.

India had previously used the strategy of expediting or expediting FTA negotiations to successfully negotiate with the UAE and Australia. India-EFTA two-way trade stood at US$ 18.65 billion in 2022-23, compared to US$ 27.23 billion in 2021-22. was billion US dollars. The trade deficit in the last fiscal year stood at US$14.8 billion. Ajay Srivastava, founder of economic think tank GTRI, said the successful conclusion of the agreement with developed countries like Switzerland will send a positive signal to the world as it is India’s call for trade liberalization at a time like this. Will demonstrate strong commitment at a time when the entire world is becoming protectionist.