{"id":87960,"date":"2026-11-05T13:30:22","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T12:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/?post_type=blog-post&p=87960"},"modified":"2026-11-05T13:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T12:30:24","slug":"making-trade-work-for-swiss-and-indian-smes","status":"publish","type":"blog-post","link":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/en\/blog-post\/making-trade-work-for-swiss-and-indian-smes\/","title":{"rendered":"Making trade work for Swiss and Indian SMEs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Swiss President Guy Parmelin\u2019s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 October 2026<\/a> marked one year since the India\u2013European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) entered into force<\/a>. Its US$100 billion investment objective and one million direct jobs<\/a> cover all four EFTA states over 15 years. These are ambitions, not realised outcomes: firms ultimately decide whether projects are commercially viable. The question is whether the necessary structures exist.
Switzerland abolished industrial import tariffs in January 2024<\/a>, before TEPA took effect. Indian industrial exporters therefore gain little additional advantage from Swiss tariff reductions alone. Finding buyers, meeting technical requirements and qualifying for approved-supplier lists are more immediate obstacles. Addressing these would give Indian firms access to better contracts while helping Swiss manufacturers build reliable commercial networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Build a route into Swiss supply chains<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A supplier-development pilot should begin with precision engineering and energy-efficient industrial equipment. These proposed areas build on bilateral interest in machinery and clean energy<\/a>. Their emphasis on measurable technical performance would allow partners to test shared assessment and training before extending support to other sectors. Participating Swiss buyers should set out their specifications before suppliers enter the pilot. Assessments could then identify gaps in production, testing and documentation, allowing support to target the requirements that stand between an introduction and an order.
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and India\u2019s Ministry of Commerce and Industry could jointly oversee the pilot. Swissmem and Switzerland Global Enterprise should identify Swiss buyers, while Invest India and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) should identify Indian producers.
Invest India\u2019s existing EFTA Desk<\/a> provides a starting point, but its focus on EFTA investors in India does not fully address Indian suppliers seeking Swiss customers. A complementary supplier desk, run by India\u2019s commerce ministry with Switzerland Global Enterprise as its Swiss counterpart, could organise assessments, workshops and referrals to testing facilities.
The next step is a published conformity-assessment pathway. On 10 June 2025, both governments committed to cooperating on non-tariff barriers.<\/a> They should translate that commitment into guidance identifying applicable Swiss requirements, recognised laboratories and tests that must be repeated. Clearer procedures could reduce the time and cost Swiss firms spend evaluating prospective partners while helping Indian producers understand what qualification requires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make training part of commercial partnerships<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technical competence grows through hands-on experience. Shared training and supplier-evaluation programmes could help smaller factories improve production processes and meet buyers\u2019 specifications. Pooling facilities would make this support more accessible to companies unable to maintain their own training centres.
Earlier cooperation offers a model. The Swiss Vocational Education and Training Initiative India and its 2015\u20132017 Quality Assurance Project<\/a> involved Swissmem<\/a> and the institution now known as the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training<\/a>, developing courses for trainers, examiners and company training managers.
The young-professionals agreement signed on 5 October 2026 offers another potential route. India\u2019s official announcement<\/a> confirms 300 places annually per country, potentially increasing to 500. Employers should confirm commencement and application procedures with the authorities: Switzerland\u2019s published eligibility list<\/a> does not yet include India. Swissmem and the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce, working with ASSOCHAM, could pool placements for smaller employers, with agreed learning outcomes and fair remuneration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manage risks and measure results<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supplier development must preserve Swiss quality requirements. Companies sharing technical drawings also need confidentiality agreements and clear arrangements for protecting intellectual property. A limited pilot, industry-association support and cost sharing would make assistance manageable. Labour and environmental standards should remain conditions of participation.
SECO and India\u2019s commerce ministry should publish annual data on completed assessments, contracts secured, training outcomes and investments made, distinguishing realised results from announcements. Independent researchers should assess whether support reaches smaller enterprises and produces lasting commercial relationships. Both governments should identify funding within existing trade-promotion budgets. Repeat orders would be a stronger indicator of durable cooperation than introductions alone. Reporting should also show how many assessed suppliers subsequently qualify to bid for Swiss contracts.
By 2028, the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Switzerland and India should be able to show which small firms have won business and which workers have gained skills. Those results would demonstrate whether TEPA is strengthening the industrial relationships on which its wider ambitions depend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":87961,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"archive-status":[],"region":[1851],"custom-themes":[1822],"class_list":["post-87960","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","region-asien-pazifik","custom-themes-finanz-wirtschaftspolitik"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-post\/87960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog-post"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"archive-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archive-status?post=87960"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=87960"},{"taxonomy":"custom-themes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foraus.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/custom-themes?post=87960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}