The Investment Chapter in the India-EFTA Free Trade Agreement : Is it a 100 billion Dollar deal?

Ranjan, Prabhash (2025) The Investment Chapter in the India-EFTA Free Trade Agreement : Is it a 100 billion Dollar deal? Legal Issues of Economic Integration, 52 (2). pp. 183-206. ISSN 1566-6573

[thumbnail of The Investment Chapter in the India-EFTA.pdf] Text
The Investment Chapter in the India-EFTA.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to Repository staff only

Download (171kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

he investment chapter in the free trade agreement (FTA) signed between India and the European Free Trade Association or EFTA – a block comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein – contains some novel provisions, such as an attempt to quantify the investment that the EFTA states will make in India – USD 100 billion in fifteen years. This has prompted many to describe this as a 100-billion-dollar deal. Another key provision in the investment chapter is that it arguably allows India to retaliate against the EFTA states if the investment does not materialize. . However, a close reading of the treaty provisions shows that the so-called ‘obligation to invest’ of the EFTA states in India is an obligation of conduct, not result. Moreover, the possibility of India’s retaliation is steeped in bureaucratic procedures and contingent on several factors, which makes it practically unworkable. The article also highlights the conspicuous absence of investment protection features in the investment chapter of the India-EFTA FTA. While this is consistent with India’s defensive approach to international law on investment protection and not including such provisions in its recent FTAs, it will pose challenges to EFTA investors due to the high risks of doing business in India.

Item Type: Article
Keywords: India | EFTA | investment | Investment promotion | obligation of conduct | obligation of result | rebalancing of concessions | investment protection
Subjects: Social Sciences and humanities > Economics, Econometrics and Finance > Econometrics
JGU School/Centre: Jindal Global Law School
Depositing User: Mr. Luckey Pathan
Date Deposited: 06 Aug 2025 11:30
Last Modified: 06 Aug 2025 11:30
Official URL: httpss://doi.org/10.54648/leie2025009
URI: https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/9938

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item