Switzerland and India have reached an agreement on a free trade deal, Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin announced on X, formerly Twitter. Parmelin said the two countries achieved "solutions to the main open issues of" the deal, which the two sides have been negotiating for years. "After 16 years of negotiations, we have reached agreement on the basic principles of" a deal he said, according to an unofficial translation. "So that this can be signed as soon as possible, our teams are working hard to clarify the last outstanding details."
India and the U.S. should aim for "economically meaningful outcomes" from better customs and trade facilitation, supply chain linkages, trade in high-tech products and trade in critical minerals between the two countries, India's commerce minister and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a joint statement.
USDA is accepting applications from exporters for its upcoming trade mission to India, the agency's Foreign Agricultural Service said this week. The April 22-25 trade mission will feature meetings with Indian importers, market briefings on the region, “relevant” site visits in New Delhi and opportunities to speak with USDA officials.
India altered its import policy regarding threaded screws traded under Indian tariff schedule codes 73181110, 73181190, 73181200, 73181300, 73181400, 73181500 and 73181900, the Director General of Foreign Trade announced. The import policy was changed from "Free" to "Prohibited," though the goods will be allowed to enter India if their cost, insurance and freight values are above approximately $1.55 per kg.
India extended its free import policy for urad beans and tur/pigeon peas for another year, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade announced. The import policy will now run until March 31, 2025, and specifically applies to urad of Indian Tariff Code (Harmonized System) 07133110 and tur/pigeon peas of ITC(HS) 07136000.