Trade Deal to Abolish Swiss Tariffs on Indian Diamonds
July 22, 25
(IDEX Online) - India has signed a trade agreement with four of its smaller European trading partners that will see diamond tariffs gradually reduce to zero over the next decade.
The deal with Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, all non-EU members belonging to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), aims to generate $100bn in investment across all sectors over the next 15 years.
In terms of diamonds, Switzerland is by far the most significant importer from India. The others currently trade negligible diamond volumes with India.
Tariffs on Indian diamonds are currently between 2.5 per cent and 5.0 per cent. The new agreement will see a phased reduction over 10 years to zero.
The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) was agreed in March, after 16 years of negotiations, but has only just been ratified by all four member countries.
On Saturday (19 July) India's commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal (pictured) officially announced that the agreement will come into effect from 1 October.
He said: "The agreement is one of India's most comprehensive trade pacts, expected to significantly deepen economic ties by unlocking substantial foreign direct investment and boosting trade across multiple sectors."
"The pact targets $50bn in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) over the first 10 years, followed by another $50bn in the subsequent five years, aiming to generate one million direct jobs in India."