Vietnam and four European countries sign FTA after 14 years

[Financial News] Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) signed a free trade agreement (FTA) 14 years after first officially beginning negotiations. EFTA’s members are the four countries that have not joined the European Union (EU): Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT) said it signed an FTA with EFTA in Hanoi, the capital, on the 18th (local time). The signing ceremony was witnessed by To Lam, Vietnam’s top leader, general secretary of the Communist Party and state president. Le Manh Hung, Vietnam’s minister of industry and trade, and representatives of EFTA member states, including Swiss President Guy Parmelin, also attended.
Once the agreement takes effect, EFTA member states will eliminate import tariffs on Vietnamese industrial products and seafood, among other goods. Vietnam will gradually reduce or eliminate tariffs on most products imported from EFTA member states within the next 11 years.
French news agency AFP noted that Vietnam and EFTA signed the FTA as a move to diversify their markets amid disruptions to global trade caused by US tariff measures. Experts also said the agreement reflected both sides’ determination to reduce their dependence on major trading partners.
Trade between Vietnam and EFTA member states averages around $2 billion a year (approximately 2.675 trillion won). The two sides officially began FTA negotiations in 2012, but they stalled from 2018. Negotiations resumed in September last year and concluded in July this year.
[email protected] Hong Chae-wan Reporter