India signs $100 billion trade deal with European bloc

New Delhi has signed a deal with a bloc of four European nations that includes an investment of $100 billion over 15 years and the creation of up to 1 million jobs in India.

According to the Trade and Economic Participation Agreement (TEPA) signed in New Delhi last Saturday, the South Asian country has committed to reducing import tariffs on Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland – the four nations that comprise the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

The agreement will bring benefits such as “better integrated and more resilient supply chains and new opportunities for businesses” leading to increased trade and investment flows, job creation, and economic growth, the EFTA said in a statement.

Through this agreement, India will attract more foreign investment from the EFTA, which will ultimately translate into an increase in “good jobs,” Swiss Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin, who spoke on behalf of the EFTA, remarked.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the agreement is in line with the government’s push for economic progress and will serve to create opportunities for young people.

”Despite structural diversities in many aspects, our economies possess complementarities that promise to be a win-win situation for all nations,” Modi stated. He also highlighted the Indian economy’s “quantum leap” in the last decade – from 11th to fifth largest in the world.

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Indian GDP grew by 8.4% from October to December 2023, representing the fastest pace in six quarters. The International Monetary Fund said it is “easily” the world’s fastest-growing economy.

To tap into India’s “large and rapidly growing market,” multiple nations have expressed interest in signing trade agreements this year, the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative reported in January.

Negotiations for trade agreements are underway between India and several key economies, including the UK, US, EU, Switzerland, Norway, and the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.

Recently, New Delhi’s trade talks with the UK, ongoing since 2021, hit a roadblock as the latter seeks “more favorable” terms, according to unnamed UK officials who spoke to The Hindu Business Line last month. Indian companies are refusing import-duty concessions without London offering easier temporary movement of Indian professionals to the UK for work and business, several media outlets have reported.

India’s negotiations with Canada have also been delayed amid friction over Ottawa linking “agents of the Indian government” to the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader near Vancouver.