India and EFTA to review trade agreement, explore new opportunities
India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries—Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein—will review implementation of their Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) at the second India-EFTA Prosperity Summit in New Delhi in October, marking one year since the pact came into force on October 1, 2025. The review comes as India's exports to the four-nation bloc have declined significantly. India's goods exports to EFTA fell 10.77 per cent to $1.75 billion in FY26, with the decline deepening to 22.72 per cent to $461.64 million in April-June FY27, the first quarter after TEPA's implementation. Imports from the bloc rose 10.99 per cent to $24.9 billion in FY26 but fell 13.09 per cent to $2.93 billion in April-June 2026, largely due to reduced gold shipments.
The summit will bring together political leaders, senior officials, and businesses to discuss implementation-related issues, including market access and procedural bottlenecks hindering bilateral commerce. EFTA's offer covers 92.2 per cent of its tariff lines, encompassing 99.6 per cent of India's exports, spanning sectors such as engineering goods, chemicals, textiles and apparel, processed foods, agricultural products, and marine products.
Participants are expected to explore ways to expand investment towards EFTA's committed $100 billion target and identify opportunities for sectoral collaboration. The Commerce Department has sought detailed inputs from exporters regarding their experience with TEPA, requesting them to flag product-specific market access difficulties, tariff and non-tariff barriers, regulatory requirements, customs delays, and certification challenges.
