India will formally operationalize its trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc on October 1, marking the country’s first-ever trade pact with a European grouping.

The four-nation bloc comprises Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. India and EFTA had signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on March 10, 2024, but its implementation was delayed due to pending procedural approvals in the member countries.

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Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, announcing the development, said, “From the first of next month, our trade agreement with the group of four countries—Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland—will come into effect.”

He also underlined that India is negotiating trade agreements with 27 countr

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