Representatives from the EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) Thailand met online to conclude negotiations towards a free trade agreement (FTA) on 29 November 2024, according to a release.
Karin Büchel, Head of the Free Trade Agreements/EFTA Division at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, acted as the EFTA spokesperson, while Director-General Chotima Iemsawasdikul from the Department of Trade Negotiations in the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand headed the Thai delegation.
The EFTA–Thailand FTA covers trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights, competition, government procurement, trade and sustainable development, and legal and horizontal provisions and contains chapters on small and medium-sized enterprises and on cooperation and capacity building.
Negotiations towards an FTA between the EFTA States and Thailand were launched by EFTA Ministers and Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister during EFTA’s Ministerial meeting in June 2022 in Borgarnes, Iceland. Since then, ten rounds of negotiations have taken place in Bangkok, Geneva and Oslo.
In 2023, bilateral EFTA–Thailand merchandise trade exceeded EUR 3.2 billion. Clocks and watches, fish and crustaceans, pharmaceutical products, electrical machinery, and mechanical appliances were the primary exports from EFTA to Thailand, while electrical machinery, mechanical appliances, clocks and watch parts, vehicles, and iron structures were the primary imports from Thailand.
