On 21 March 2025, Switzerland’s parliament approved an historic trade deal with India. The deal will give Swiss businesses an advantage over EU, US and UK competitors whose governments have yet to reach trade deals with India.
The deal was supported by 131 versus 22 parliamentary votes. The main opposition came from Socialist Party members keen to see investments associated with social and environmental damage excluded from any agreement.
The successful vote, which accepted a deal covering nearly 95% of Switzerland’s exports to India, is the result of 16 years of negotiations. The agreement, which was signed a year ago, was negotiated between Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and India.
The trade deal will further open the Indian market for Swiss pharmaceutical products and remove tariffs on most machine exports. In addition, the deal will benefit Swiss watch and food exporters, chocolate and coffee exporters in particular.
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