EFTA and Viet Nam advance in key areas

From 24 to 27 February 2026, delegations from the EFTA States and Viet Nam met in Geneva for the 19th round of negotiations towards a free trade agreement.

Sveinung Røren, Director of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries of Norway, acted as the EFTA spokesperson, while Chief Negotiator Le Trieu Dung, Director-General at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam, headed the Vietnamese delegation.

In-depth discussions were held on trade in goods, trade in services, intellectual property rights, trade and sustainable development, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, rules of origin, trade facilitation, small and medium-sized enterprises, investment, government procurement, legal and horizontal issues and cooperation and capacity building.

Both sides acknowledged that the negotiations had advanced in several key areas, and agreed to reconvene in the second quarter of 2026 to sustain the momentum and work towards resolving the remaining issues with a view to bringing the negotiations to a conclusion.

The full report from the negotiation round will be available soon.

Economic relations between the EFTA States and Viet Nam

Bilateral trade between EFTA and Viet Nam amounted to EUR 4.8 billion in 2025. With annual growth rates above 10% in both directions, bilateral trade has intensified rapidly in recent years. In 2025, Viet Nam maintained a significant trade surplus (EUR 2.5 billion) with EFTA. Electrical machinery, fish, pharmaceutical products and mechanical machinery were the EFTA States' top exports to Viet Nam, while electrical machinery, footwear and apparel, and mechanical machinery were the top imports.

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and Viet Nam here.

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