The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) is a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between the Republic of India and the four member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Discussions for the agreement began in 2008, and after 16 years and 21 rounds of negotiations, it was finally signed on March 10, 2024, in New Delhi. The TEPA is set to enter into force on October 1, 2025, aiming to liberalize trade in goods, services, and investment between the two blocs.
The agreement works primarily by eliminating or reducing tariffs on the majority of goods traded. EFTA states will eliminate or sharply reduce tariffs on approximately 99.6% of India's export value to EFTA, including 100% of non-agricultural products. In return, India will reduce or remove duties on imports from EFTA covering about 95.3% of EFTA's export value, while protecting sensitive domestic sectors like dairy products, soya, coal, and gold imports from full tariff liberalization. The TEPA consists of 14 chapters covering areas such as Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Intellectual Property, and Dispute Settlement. A key mechanism is the binding investment pledge of USD 100 billion from the EFTA countries to India over 15 years, which is expected to generate one million direct jobs.
The TEPA is India's first FTA with these four developed European nations and connects to India's broader strategy of integrating into global supply chains, following recent agreements with partners like the UAE and Australia. Notably, the agreement includes a dedicated chapter on Trade and Sustainable Development with legally binding commitments on environmental protection and labor standards, marking the first time India has agreed to such enforceable provisions in a trade pact. The agreement has not been replaced or amended since its signing, but its entry into force on October 1, 2025, marks the recent change from a signed document to an operational treaty.