الأحد, مارس 10th 2024
After 16 years of negotiations, EFTA states, including Switzerland, sign a landmark free trade agreement with India, marking a significant milestone in Swiss trade policy.
Almost 16 years after the start of negotiations on the free trade agreement between the EFTA states and India, the agreement was signed on Sunday by Minister Parmelin, his EFTA counterparts and the Indian trade minister.
Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and his counterparts from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway signed a free trade agreement with Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal in Delhi on Sunday, as announced by the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER).
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swiss President Viola Amherd accompanied the signing with video messages.
The signing of the agreement is an important milestone in Swiss trade policy. Switzerland and the other EFTA states have succeeded in becoming the first European partner to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, wrote the EAER.
Swissmem has described the conclusion of the free trade agreement with India as “a ray of hope in a difficult phase for export companies”. Duties of up to 22 percent will now be eliminated, Swissmem announced.
The agreement would therefore significantly improve the competitiveness of the Swiss tech industry in this important growth market. This applies in particular to competitors from China, the UK, the EU and the USA, which have not yet been able to conclude such an agreement, Swissmem added.
A free trade agreement would open up additional market opportunities in a country with a population of 1.4 billion. This would also benefit SMEs that do not have the opportunity to set up production locally. This would also strengthen Switzerland as a business location and secure jobs. At the same time, it supports the manufacturing hub India through the export of high-tech products and also creates new jobs there.
According to Swissmem, India is an important sales market for the Swiss tech industry, which also includes the mechanical, electrical and metal industries as well as related technology sectors.
No other major market has shown comparable growth momentum over the past three years. Between 2020 and 2023, the export volume grew cumulatively by 60 percent – from 636 million to more than one billion Swiss francs.
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