The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states and India continued their dialog in relation to a free trade agreement in August. Discussions touched upon key issues. A platform for regular exchange is now being established.

At the end of August, EFTA member states (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland) and India met in New Delhi for a further round of talks aimed at concluding a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA). According to a press release issued by EFTA, the negotiations focused on key focal points such as the trade in goods, trade in services, rules of origin and technical barriers to trade (TBT), while sustainable development was also mentioned.

Based on the progress made during the New Delhi meeting, regular talks are now expected to be held by delegates from EFTA and India, during which key issues are to be discussed in greater detail.

Trade talks between EFTA and India only resumed in the spring. The negotiations had actually first been held as far back as 2008, but were unsuccessful at the time.

Total trade between the EFTA member states and India has grown steadily over the past two decades. According to EFTA data, bilateral trade in goods between EFTA member states and India came to more than 6.1 billion US dollars in 2022. Last year, the most important exports from EFTA states to India included machinery and pharmaceutical products, while organic chemicals topped the list of imports from India.

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