The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) has agreed to invest $100 billion in India over 15 years in sectors including pharma, food processing, engineering and chemical sector as part of the free trade agreement (FTA) with India that is likely to be announced within a month, a senior government official has said. The government officials pointed out that the deal will help India diversify its pharma and chemical imports away from China, dependence on which has been a long standing concern for the country. India primarily depends on Chinese imports in strategically important sectors such as chemical and pharma sectors to fulfill domestic demand and fulfill export orders. It imported $3.4 billion worth of medical and bulk drugs worth nearly $7 billion, as per commerce and industry ministry data. As Switzerland chiefly exports better standard pharma and medical devices to India, duty elimination under the deal could help EFTA countries compete with Chinese products that will continue to face high tariffs, hence helping India diversify away from cheap quality Chinese products. India’s average tariffs are among the highest in the world at over 18 per cent. The elimination of the duty under FTA tends to give significant advantage to the FTA partner countries. (ICE NEW DELHI)

Fonte notizia: The Indian Express