India's steady climb in Swiss import markets

Steady Momentum at $2.66 Billion: India-Switzerland Trade Reaches New Equilibrium

India's bilateral merchandise trade with Switzerland expanded to $2.66 billion in 2025, building on a foundation laid over four years of consistent flows. The figure represents a modest 3.0% year-on-year gain from 2024's $2.58 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year of trade between two economies now bound by formal tariff preferences. Yet the arc of this relationship reveals something deeper: a shift from volatile commodity swings toward diversified, multi-sectoral partnerships anchored in chemistry, engineering, and textiles.

Among EFTA countries, Switzerland is the largest trading partner of India followed by Norway. The bilateral channel has matured incrementally. From 2022 through 2025, four-year cumulative trade totaled $10.57 billion. The compound trajectory—$2.82 billion (2022), $2.84 billion (2023), $2.58 billion (2024), $2.66 billion (2025)—shows the bilateral relationship has settled into a sustainable rhythm, neither volatile nor stagnant.

Chemistry Anchors the Partnership: Organic Compounds Lead Export Growth

The dominant sector propelling India-Switzerland trade is organic chemicals. Exports of organic compounds reached approximately $901.6 million in 2025—representing roughly 34% of the bilateral goods trade. This category encompasses the heterocyclic compounds, specialty dyes, pigments, and pharmaceutical intermediates that have made Indian chemical exporters indispensable to Swiss pharmaceutical and fine-chemical manufacturers.

In FY 2021-22, India's total chemicals products exports were valued at US$ 24,313.88 million, an increase of 38.67% YoY. The export growth of chemicals has been achieved because of a surge in shipments of organic, inorganic chemicals, agrochemicals, dyes and dye intermediates and specialty chemicals. Chemical production in India is primarily focused in Maharashtra and Gujarat. However, the other major producing states are West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

"The trade in organic chemicals is a growing market that is likely to expand further in the coming years. This is due to the growing need for organic compounds in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, polymers, and agriculture."

Four other sectors round out the bilateral goods profile: machinery ($360.5 million), articles of leather and footwear ($288.6 million), synthetic fiber materials ($114.4 million), and fresh vegetables ($104.8 million). Together, these five categories account for roughly $1.75 billion—or 66%—of India's exports to Switzerland, with organic chemicals dominating the portfolio.

TEPA Opens the Gate: Tariff-Free Access Reshapes Strategic Calculus

The agreement was signed on 10 March 2024, after 16 years of intermittent negotiations, and is scheduled to enter into force on 1 October 2025. This timing is critical for bilateral trade momentum. With EFTA's offer covering 92% of tariff lines, Indian exporters in sectors like machinery, organic chemicals, textiles, and processed foods will enjoy significantly improved access to EFTA markets through TEPA.

With zero tariffs and improved trade facilitation, India's exports across diverse panels are expected to achieve steady growth, supported by vast untapped potential in Switzerland and Norway. The tariff elimination enters effect at the precise moment when India's organic chemical, leather, and textile sectors are poised for expanded European market penetration.

For Swiss importers, the calculus has shifted. The agreement is also advantageous for Indian exporters, particularly those in the organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and food processing industries, targeting the EFTA and Swiss markets. The zero-duty regimen means Indian chemical suppliers competing with Chinese or Turkish rivals now carry no tariff penalty—a structural advantage that should support volume expansion through 2026 and beyond.

Leather and Textiles: High-Value Corridors Emerging

The major items of Indian exports to Switzerland are organic chemicals, pearls, precious stones and jewellery, textiles and garments, dyestuffs, electrical machinery and parts, leather products, shoes and shoe uppers, cotton, plastics, coffee. The leather and footwear cluster represents a second tier of strategic importance.

The industry employs about 4.42 million people in the country. It is a prominent source of employment in the rural parts of India with women employment at about 30% in the sector. Major footwear and leather products producing states in India are Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir. Kanpur is known as the 'Leather city' of India. It has one of the biggest and best tanneries in India.

At $288.6 million in annual shipments to Switzerland, leather products remain underexploited. Yet India's trade pact with four European nations, including Switzerland and Norway, will take effect from Wednesday, boosting exports of textiles, leather and food products while attracting investments. The TEPA window opens precisely when Swiss luxury brands and equipment makers are seeking alternatives to China-centric supply bases.

Jobs and Livelihoods: The Human Dimension

The India-Switzerland trade flow, while modest in absolute dollar terms, anchors employment across multiple industrial clusters in six states. Based on sector multipliers from India's Ministry of Textiles and chemical industry employment data, the trade relationship supports approximately 280,000 to 340,000 jobs across direct and indirect employment chains—a figure that will expand materially once TEPA tariff benefits take full effect.

The textile industry continues to be a major employer in India and directly employs about 45 million and indirectly about 105 million, with allied sensitivities such as cotton production, spinning, dyeing, and supply chain enterprises. The Indian chemical industry employs over two million people and makes up 2.8 to 3% of the global chemical industry.

In Maharashtra and Gujarat, chemical complexes and dye houses rely on organic compound exports to Switzerland as a steady revenue anchor. In Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, leather tanning units and footwear workshops employ predominantly women—roughly 30% of the workforce in tanning and finishing roles. These are not abstract statistics but families, towns, and regional economies for whom Swiss market access is a concrete livelihood driver.

Major footwear and leather products producing states in India are Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir. The distribution across six major industrial zones amplifies the multiplier effect of bilateral trade, spreading foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities across India's geographic and sectoral fabric.

The Path Forward: Tariff Benefits Still Ramping

The 3.0% year-over-year growth in 2025, measured against 2024's figure, reflects pre-TEPA momentum. The real acceleration should register in 2026 and 2027, once Indian exporters fully exploit zero-duty access and Swiss buyers conclude commercial negotiations with Indian suppliers. The agreement goes beyond goods and services and committed to promote investments with the aim to increase the stock of foreign direct investments by USD 100 billion in India in the next 15 years, and to facilitate the generation of 1 million direct employment in India, through such investments.

For Indian organic chemical and leather exporters, the opportunity window is broadening. For textile mills in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, TEPA access to Swiss retail and industrial end-users represents a new channel for value-added products. For Switzerland, the pact delivers supply-chain diversification away from established EU partners, coupled with access to India's dynamic, young manufacturing workforce.

The India-Switzerland bilateral relationship remains modest by global trade standards. Yet its steady growth, grounded in chemistry and engineering strength, signals a maturing economic partnership—one where tariff architecture now aligns with underlying competitive advantages, creating conditions for accelerated trade flows through the end of the decade.