New Delhi, September 29 (IANS) Trade and Economic Participation Agreement (TEPA) of India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (TEPA) will be officially implemented from 1 October. The group of these four countries includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Under this agreement, EFTA has committed an investment of $ 100 billion over a period of 15 years, which will create a million direct employment in India.
On this occasion, the government will organize a formal program in Bharat Mandapam in the national capital. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of EFTA countries will preside over the function, which will include senior officials and industry representatives.
India and EFTA signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on March 10, 2024, but the implementation of the agreement required procedural approval in member countries, due to which it has been implemented since the early month.
Under the agreement, EFTA is providing its 92.2 percent tariff lines, which cover India’s 99.6 percent exports in the region. EFTA’s market access offer includes 100 percent non-agricultural products and tariff concessions on some processed agricultural products.
India is providing its 82.7 percent tariff lines, covering 95.3 percent of EFTA exports. However, effective fees on gold will remain unchanged.
This agreement will reduce tariffs on specific EFTA items such as Swiss watches, whiskey and chocolate for Indian consumers.
The agreement includes provisions of mutual recognition of services, allowing professionals from areas such as nursing, chartered accountancy and architecture to work in EFTA countries.
It also includes intellectual property rights, which aim to solve India’s concerns about patent safety measures, especially the evergreen use of patent in pharma products.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has called the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) a “trust and efficiency partnership” and this is a relationship based on mutual trust and supplementation. He hoped that this partnership would begin a new era of cooperation between India and four EFTA countries, which would open new avenues of trade, investment and innovation.
-IANS
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