India's 1st trade deal with European bloc kicks in
India's new Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)—that's Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland—kicks in from October 1, 2024.
This marks India's first-ever trade pact with a European group.
The agreement was actually signed back in March 2024 but took a while to clear all the official hurdles.
TEPA expected to bring in $100 billion investments
With TEPA, India will drop tariffs on most imports from EFTA countries and get nearly all of its exports into those markets duty-free.
While the immediate perks might feel small since EFTA tariffs are already pretty low, this deal is expected to bring in $100 billion in investments over 15 years and create about a million jobs.
Switzerland is India's biggest trading partner in the group, so expect even closer business ties ahead.