Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday (19th July 2025) that the Free Trade Agreement between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will go into effect on 1st October. On 10th March 2024, the two parties signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA).
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland are members of the EFTA.
One million direct employment will be created in India thanks to the bloc’s US $ 100 billion investment, of which US $ 50 billion will be made within ten years of the agreement’s implementation and another US $ 50 billion over the following five.
Domestic exporters would have the chance to join the EU (European Union) markets thanks to the agreement. Switzerland exports more than 40% of its services to the European Union. Switzerland can serve as a foundation for Indian businesses looking to expand into the EU market. In 2024–2025, trade between India and EFTA totalled US $ 24.4 billion.
This is a first-of-its-kind commitment made in any of India’s previous trade agreements. The main element of the nearly 16-year-long agreement is the promise made by India in exchange for opening its markets to a number of goods from the EFTA countries. Switzerland is India’s largest trading partner in the bloc.
