Illustrative image (Source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu)Hanoi (VNA) - Indonesia and theEuropean Free Trade Association (EFTA) on December 16 signed a bilateralagreement to boost trade and investment cooperation after nearly eight years ofnegotiations.
Under the agreement, Indonesia and the EFTA countries - Switzerland,Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland - will remove tariff and non-tariff barriers onthousands of their exports.
Among the products, Indonesia’s palm oil will have full market access inIceland and Norway. Switzerland will also allow easier access of palm oilproducts of Indonesia to the country, but in limited quantities.
The Indonesian Ministry of Commerce said access to palm oil markets had prolongednegotiations between the country and the EFTA member nations for years. Thefirst round of negotiations took place in early 2011.
According to the ministry, both sides willbenefit from this agreement.
Major exports of Indonesia, such as seafood,coffee and textiles, will also enjoy preferential tariffs when entering the EFTAmember countries. In return, EFTA partners’ key products such as gold, pharmaceuticalsand dairy products will have easier access to the Indonesian market.
In 2017, Indonesia-EFTA import-export turnover hit 2.4 billion USD, of whichIndonesia enjoyed a trade surplus of 212 million USD. The EFTA countries invested621 million USD in Indonesia in the year.-VNA
VNA
