← External Forces: Trade, Geopolitics & Market Access (all topics)
India-EFTA TEPA
What it is
The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement with the EFTA states - Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein - took effect on 1 October 2025, with phased Indian tariff elimination across a wide list and an EFTA investment commitment over fifteen years
Watches are among the clearest beneficiaries: duties that stood around 22% are being cut in stages toward zero within five years
Impact on industries
- Landed cost of Swiss watches falls in steps, which brings grey-market purchase back into the formal channel and widens the addressable buyer base
- Indian exporters gain improved access to EFTA markets across pharmaceuticals, chemicals, apparel and machinery lines
- Domestic premium watch assembly faces a steadily cheaper import alternative at exactly the price points it was moving up into
- The investment commitment is an undertaking rather than a binding obligation, so the reciprocal benefit is slower and less certain than the tariff schedule