Despite a long-standing friendship, India–Switzerland trade remains heavily skewed. Analyse the reasons and suggest measures to correct the imbalance.

India and Switzerland signed a Treaty of Friendship in 1948 [1], but their trade is not balanced. In 2024, India exported USD 1.667 bn to Switzerland and imported USD 25.166 bn [1]. The gap comes mostly from India's demand for gold, not from weak Indian exporters.

Reasons for the Imbalance

• Gold bullion dominance: Switzerland is a major global gold-refining centre, and bullion makes up a large part of India's imports from it [1]. Over 80% of India's imports from EFTA are gold [2].
• Demand-driven swings: Imports rose from USD 11.3 bn (2020) to USD 29.5 bn (2021), while exports stayed near USD 1.3 bn [1]. The gap follows Indian gold buying, not export performance.
• Mismatched baskets: India sells organic chemicals, gems, textiles and leather. Switzerland sells high-value pharmaceuticals, machinery, precision instruments and watches [1].
• Thin farm trade: India's agri-exports to EFTA were only USD 72.37 mn in FY 2024–25 [2]. India has also kept dairy, soya and pharmaceuticals out of its tariff cuts [2].
• Weak investment pull: Swiss FDI into India was only USD 10.748 bn over 2000–24 [1]. The bilateral investment treaty was ended under the 2015 Model BIT policy [1].

Measures to Correct the Imbalance

• Use TEPA access: EFTA cut tariffs on 92.2% of tariff lines, covering 99.6% of India's exports [2]. Export councils should push machinery, textiles and processed foods [2].
• Direct the investment pledge into exports: TEPA Article 7.1 commits EFTA to raise FDI in India by USD 100 bn over 15 years [2]. The EFTA Desk [2] should steer this money into export-oriented manufacturing.
• Grow services and mobility: Mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) for nurses, chartered accountants and architects [2] can expand services exports, which goods data do not capture. So can the new Migration and Mobility Partnership and Young Professionals Agreement [3].
• Technology co-production: The transport MoU (EVs, ropeways, tunnels) and the AIT India startup programme [3] can build joint manufacturing and innovation capacity.
• Moderate bullion demand: Encouraging gold recycling and financial alternatives to physical gold would reduce the import bill.

The imbalance is mostly a gold figure sitting on top of a narrow range of other goods. The relationship should therefore be judged by investment, services and technology flows, not by the goods balance alone. If TEPA's investment pledge and the new mobility agreements are delivered, a friendship based on shared democratic values can become a balanced economic partnership, in line with SDG 8 on growth and decent work.