Outreach event highlights tariff concessions, market access, investment commitments and opportunities for Indian exporters in four high-income EFTA markets
New Delhi : Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal delivered the keynote address at an outreach event for Export Promotion Councils, industry associations, exporters and business representatives from the EFTA States, aimed at promoting greater utilisation of opportunities under the India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA).
The event was organised by the Department of Commerce in New Delhi and formed part of the 2nd India-EFTA Prosperity Summit 2026.
TEPA completes first year
TEPA entered into force on October 1, 2025. Addressing the gathering, Agrawal noted that leaders from all four EFTA member states — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland — are in New Delhi to mark the first anniversary of the Agreement and help chart the way forward.
He said India and the EFTA States have opened their respective markets under the Agreement. EFTA’s commitments cover 92.2 per cent of its tariff lines, accounting for 99.6 per cent of India’s exports, with full coverage of non-agricultural products.
India’s commitments, meanwhile, cover 82.7 per cent of tariff lines, representing 95.3 per cent of EFTA exports.
Predictability a key advantage for businesses
The Commerce Secretary emphasised that TEPA goes beyond tariff reductions, with predictability being one of its most important benefits for businesses.
He said stable tariffs over the foreseeable future would enable companies to make investment decisions, establish supply chains and undertake long-term planning with greater confidence.
Agrawal urged Indian companies to build partnerships with businesses in the EFTA States and develop integrated value chains, covering everything from inputs to finished products, thereby creating greater reliability for businesses on both sides.
Quality products can open wider global markets
Highlighting the nature of EFTA economies, Agrawal said the four countries are high-income markets where quality is strongly valued.
“If you are able to create quality products in this market, then you are ready for any other market,”
he said, adding that quality established and recognised in these markets would be appreciated across other international markets as well.
He also highlighted significant opportunities for agricultural exports, noting that duties on many products in these high-consumption markets have been reduced to zero. He called on exporters to identify such products and establish reliable, long-term supply chains to the EFTA countries.
The Commerce Secretary pointed out that the four EFTA States collectively import goods and services worth more than half a trillion US dollars annually, making them an important market for Indian exporters.
Export bodies, States urged to prepare five-year action plans
Agrawal called upon Export Promotion Councils, industry associations and State Governments to take the opportunities created by TEPA to businesses across the country and ensure that companies understand the practical benefits offered by a free trade agreement.
He urged them to prepare five-year action plans with each EFTA partner country for each market, identifying how India can expand its presence in individual markets and setting out the non-tariff issues that need to be addressed.
He stressed that the objective should be a two-way expansion of markets.
“The idea is not that businesses in EFTA countries only see India as an extension of their market. The idea is also that businesses in India should see the market of EFTA countries as an extension of their market,”
Agrawal said.
TEPA’s major investment commitment
The Commerce Secretary highlighted the investment commitment as one of the distinctive features of TEPA compared with other trade agreements.
Under Article 7.1 of the Agreement, the EFTA States:
“shall aim to increase foreign direct investment from investors of the EFTA States into India by 50 billion (US dollars) within 10 years from the entry into force of this Agreement and an additional 50 billion (US dollars) in the succeeding 5 years”
and
“shall aim to facilitate the generation of 1 million jobs within 15 years in India”.
Agrawal said India is a growing market offering investment opportunities across sectors, adding that deeper and more comprehensive business partnerships between Indian and EFTA companies have the potential to take investment beyond the levels envisaged under the Agreement.
The outreach programme therefore sought to translate TEPA’s market-access and investment provisions into concrete business opportunities, stronger value chains and expanded India-EFTA commercial engagement.