European Free Trade Association

European Free Trade Association

Summary of European Free Trade Association

A free trade area consisting of seven European countries among which tariffs and quantitative restrictions on industrial imports have been eliminated. Established in 1960 by the Stockholm Convention, EFTA originally included Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; in 1973, Denmark and the United Kingdom left EFTA. Iceland has since joined EFTA, and Finland has become an associate member.

EFTA operates through a secretariat based in Geneva; a semiannual meeting of the EFTA Council, in which all members are represented, oversees the affairs of the association and promulgates policies

(Main Author: William J. Miller)

European Free Trade Association Outline

] EFTA was founded in 1960 under the EFTA Convention signed in the same year. It originally consisted of Austria, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. Now only Norway, Iceland and Switzerland remain in the association. Its objective is to promote economic integration among the members. For that purpose, it coordinates the members’ policies on tariffs, trade barriers and the use of raw resources. EFTA also acts as an economic entity to develop cooperation with the European Union and the OECD. Its headquarters are in Geneva.(1)

European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

The European Free Trade Association, abbreviated as EFTA, is an intergovernmental organisation established in 1960 by seven European countries to promote free trade and economic integration to the benefit of its Member States. All original signatories except Norway and Switzerland withdrew from EFTA upon joining the European Union (EU), as did Finland which had become an associate member in 1961 and full member in 1986. As Iceland joined in 1970 and Liechtenstein in 1991 EFTA currently has four Member States:

Iceland (IS) Liechtenstein (LI)

Norway (NO) Switzerland (CH)

The association is responsible for the management of:

the free trade between the EFTA countries;

EFTA’s participation in the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the European Union and three EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtentstein and Norway, but not Switzerland);

EFTA’s worldwide network of free trade agreements.

European Free Trade Association

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on european free trade association explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

European Free Trade Association and the European Union

Resources

See Also

  • International Organization
  • Foreign Relations
  • Intergovernmental Organization
  • Regional Organization
  • Regional Integration

Resources

See Also

  • EFTA

Resources

Further Reading

  • The entry “european free trade association” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

Resources

Further Information

The European Free Trade Association

See Also

EU-Switzerland bilateral agreement

European Economic Area (EEA)

European Union (EU)

Resources

BBBAAAXXX

Notes

  1. John Mo, International Commercial Law

EFTA and the Treaties of the European Union

Description of EFTA provided by the European Union Commission: The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an international organisation promoting free trade and economic integration. The Association maintains the management of (1) the EFTA free trade area, (2) the EFTA participation in the European Economic Area (EEA) and (3) EFTA’s network of free trade agreements. Its four members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Resources

See Also

Popular Treaties Topics

  • Treaties of the United Nations (UN)
  • Types of Treaties
  • International Treaties
  • Famous Treaties
  • Law of Treaties
  • Numbered Treaties

EFTA and the Treaties of the European Union

Description of EFTA provided by the European Union Commission: The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an international organisation promoting free trade and economic integration. The Association maintains the management of (1) the EFTA free trade area, (2) the EFTA participation in the European Economic Area (EEA) and (3) EFTA’s network of free trade agreements. Its four members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Resources

See Also

Popular Treaties Topics

  • Treaties of the United Nations (UN)
  • Types of Treaties
  • International Treaties
  • Famous Treaties
  • Law of Treaties
  • Numbered Treaties

European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in relation with International Trade

In the context of trade organizations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following definition of European Free Trade Association (EFTA): A free trade area including Austria, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. EFTA was established by the Stockholm Convention of 1960 to liberalize trade in industrial products without the political implications of a customs union; free trade in most industrial products has existed among EFTA members since 1977. All EFTA members signed individual free trade agreements with the European Community in 1972-73.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *