Get ready to buy world famous Swiss watches, wine, chocolates and much more at cheaper prices. Indians are set to start paying less for many such items, thanks to India¡¯s deal with the four-nation EFTA on Sunday wherein it signed a free trade agreement under which New Delhi has received an investment commitment of $100 billion over the next 15 years to facilitate the creation of one million jobs.
After nearly 16 years, the EFTA agreement was signed. Negotiations had begun in 2008 but had been put on hold in November 2013. The negotiations came to an end after 21 rounds of talks that started back up in October 2016.?For the first time in the history of free trade agreements, target-oriented investment and job creation are being legally committed to.?
For the unversed, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member nations are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
After inking the $100 billion deal with EFTA, India will waive basic customs duties on chocolates, wristwatches, and pocket watches made in Switzerland as part of the agreement.
According to the agreement's fine print, the tax will be eliminated in equal installments over a seven-year period. Currently, import duties on chocolates and chocolate-related products are 30 percent in India, and on the majority of Swiss watch variants, they are 20 percent, as per PTI report.
After all parties have finished the ratification process, the agreement with EFTA will become operative.
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In 2022¨C2023 trade between India and the four EFTA countries totaled $18.66 billion, with Switzerland and Norway holding the largest shares. Drugs and pharmaceuticals, jewelry, gems, and organic and inorganic chemicals are among India's main exports to EFTA nations. These states are major importers of gold, watches, pharmaceuticals, ships, and boats.
Switzerland is India's biggest EFTA trading partner, making up 91% of bilateral merchandise trade, according to estimates from the Global Trade Research Initiative.?For Swiss wines with a CIF (shipping price that includes costs, insurance, and freight) between $5 and $15, India has also extended discounts.?Over a ten-year period, duties will be reduced in equal installments for those with a CIF of more than $15.
The EFTA deal agreement includes tariff concessions on a range of products imported from Switzerland, including seafood, mediterranean fruits, coffee, oils, sweets, processed foods, and wine, among others. This will lead to a drop in prices of these products in Indian markets, making them cheaper, more affordable and accessible to Indian consumers.
The agreement would grant duty-free access to nearly all domestic industrial goods in EFTA countries, in addition to duty concessions on processed agricultural products. Switzerland, India's principal trading partner in the bloc, has already eliminated tariffs on nearly all industrial goods as of January 1.?
Lindt, Toblerone,Cailler,Villars,Spr¨¹ngli and L?derach are among the famous Swiss chocolate brands.
"The effective duty on gold remains untouched. Sensitivity related to Production Linked Incentive (PLI) in sectors such as pharma, medical devices, and processed food, etc have been taken while extending offers. Sectors such as dairy, soya, coal and sensitive agricultural products are kept in exclusion list," the Indian government said in a statement on March 10.
The EFTA¡¯s market-access offer covers all non-agricultural products and tariff concession on Processed Agricultural Products. India has offered 105 sub-sectors to the EFTA and secured commitments in 128 sub-sectors from Switzerland, 114 from Norway, 107 from Liechtenstein, and 110 from Iceland, as per the statement.
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