HANOI, Oct 18 — Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein have signed a free-trade agreement with Vietnam, the governments of Norway and Vietnam announced on Sunday.
Vietnam's Trade Ministry said it signed the deal in Hanoi with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members.
In a statement, Oslo announced that around half of Norway's exports to Vietnam will be tariff-free when the agreement enters into force, with more than 98 per cent to be tariff-free within seven years.
Long-stalled free-trade talks were relaunched last year amid global tensions over United States tariffs. Negotiations concluded in July.
Vietnam's Trade Ministry said the Southeast Asian country mainly exports seafood, footwear, textiles, machinery, and equipment, electronics, and components to the EFTA market, and imports industrial machinery and equipment, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and raw materials for production.
It added that bilateral trade between Vietnam and EFTA member countries has averaged US$2 billion (RM8.17 billion) annually.
