Govt must do more on FTAs to help exporters benefit from trade deals

Tariffs on many imports from the Efta nations will be eliminated, and the duties on Indian exports to those countries were not very high anyway

The free-trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Free Trade Association (Efta) will come into force today, more than a year after it was finalised and signed. Given India’s other trade woes — the 50 per cent tariff currently  imposed on exports by the United States (US), and the long delay in finalising an agreement with the European Union (EU) — it is not surprising that the government is emphasising this. And Efta is certainly good news. This small bloc of developed nations — comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein — may not be as influential a grouping as