The free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association, or EFTA, is expected to expand Vietnamese goods’ access to high-purchasing-power markets through tariff cuts and trade facilitation. To turn these preferences into export orders, businesses must meet rules of origin, quality standards, traceability and sustainability requirements.
Expanding access to high-purchasing-power markets
Vietnam and EFTA, comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, signed VEFTA on October 18 after more than a decade of negotiations spanning 21 rounds. EFTA has around 15 million people. Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that bilateral trade reached 4.8 billion EUR, nearly 5.4 billion USD, in 2025, with Vietnam posting a surplus of 2.5 billion EUR.
Vietnam’s main exports to EFTA include aquatic products, textiles and garments, footwear, machinery, electronics and components. Preferential tariffs will improve their price competitiveness and help diversify export markets. Agricultural market access will follow agreed schedules that take account of each party’s trade interests.
Major EFTA exports, including cheese, coffee, chocolate, baby food and dietary supplements, will enter Vietnam with zero tariffs under a schedule of up to 16 years. EFTA will also grant Vietnam preferences equivalent to those in the bloc’s recently signed free trade agreements.
Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Gass said VEFTA will give Vietnamese coffee, fruit, agricultural products and textiles easier access to markets with high quality and sustainability requirements. The agreement will encourage businesses to compete through quality and added value rather than price alone.
Tariff preferences must go hand in hand with rules of origin
Once the agreement takes effect, EFTA will immediately eliminate import duties on covered Vietnamese-origin industrial and aquatic products. Vietnam will eliminate or reduce tariffs on most EFTA industrial and aquatic products according to agreed schedules, with some reductions extending over 11 years. Agricultural access will depend on commitments for each product group.
VEFTA allows expanded cumulation for certain non-agricultural materials originating in ASEAN or the European Union, subject to specified conditions. While the agreement awaits entry into force, businesses are advised to review tariff schedules, product-specific origin requirements, origin-certification and quality-testing costs, and importers’ standards.
Norwegian Ambassador Stein Iversen advised businesses, especially SMEs, to study tariff commitments, rules of origin and market-access conditions while improving quality, traceability and production sustainability. Ngo Chung Khanh of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said the agreement should be measured by export contracts, technology transfer and benefits for businesses and people, not only tariff cuts. Zero tariffs will bring little benefit if products fail technical, food-safety, sustainability or origin requirements.
Preparing to turn opportunities into orders
VEFTA must be ratified before it takes effect. Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung said the ministry will submit an implementation plan and necessary legal documents to the competent authorities, aiming to complete ratification and bring the agreement into force as soon as possible. Businesses also need guidance on tariff schedules, origin certification and market standards, especially SMEs with limited resources and experience.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is completing an FTA management and implementation system with the FTA Portal for public-service data, the FTA Implementation Index for localities and the FTA Ecosystem for links among stakeholders across value chains.
Sources: VietnamPlus / Vietnam News Agency
