Goyal says India to sign trade pact with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein on Oct 1

By Anjali Sharma

WASHINGTON – Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday announced that India will operationalize it’s first-ever trade pact with the EFTA bloc—comprised Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein—on October 1, boosting trade and economic ties.

India will formally operationalize its trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association bloc on October 1, marked the country’s first-ever trade pact with a European grouping.

Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland and India and EFTA had signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement on March 10, 2024, but its implementation was delayed due to pending procedural approvals in the member countries.

Piyush Goyal, announced the development, said, “From the first of next month, our trade agreement with the group of four countries—Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland will come into effect.”

He underlined that India is negotiating trade agreements with 27 countries, including the United States, the European Union, and Peru, while terms of reference for a pact with the Eurasian bloc have already been finalised.

“Countries around the world, including developed nations, are eager to sign free trade agreements with India,” he said.

He recalled that New Delhi has already signed agreements with the UAE, Australia, and the UK.

Goyal highlighted the transformation of India’s economy since 2014, noting that foreign exchange reserves now stand at USD 700 billion three times higher than in 2014.

He added, “Within the next two years, India will become the world’s third-largest economy, a USD 5 trillion economy.”

Goyal noted that on the growth outlook, India’s GDP grew 7.8% in the last quarter, while inflation fell to 2%, the lowest since Independence.

He added that a high-profile launch event for the agreement’s implementation will be held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.