Vietnam Signs Free Trade Deal With the European Free Trade Association

Vietnam and the four countries of the European Free Trade Association, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, signed a free trade agreement in Hanoi on Sunday, ending negotiations that stretched over roughly 14 years, according to the association and the Vietnam News Agency.

Vietnam’s minister of industry and trade, Le Manh Hung, signed for his country. Swiss President Guy Parmelin, Liechtenstein’s prime minister, Brigitte Haas, Iceland’s foreign minister, Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, and Norway’s state secretary for foreign affairs, Astrid Bergmal, signed for the association. To Lam, Vietnam’s Communist Party general secretary and president, attended the ceremony.

The association describes the deal as comprehensive. Beyond eliminating or reducing customs duties, it covers trade in services, investment, intellectual property, government procurement, rules for food safety and product standards, help for small and medium-sized businesses, and a chapter on trade and sustainable development, according to both the association’s announcement and the Vietnamese report. Neither announcement laid out a schedule of tariff cuts or a timeline for the agreement to take effect, which will require ratification by the member countries.

The trade involved is modest by global standards but has been growing. The association put two-way trade with Vietnam at about 4.8 billion euros in 2025, with Vietnam running a surplus of about 2.5 billion euros, up from about half a billion a decade earlier. The Vietnamese report used a lower figure of nearly $2 billion a year, and the two accounts may measure trade differently. Vietnam sells the European countries seafood, footwear, clothing, machinery and electronics, while it buys machinery, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, both sources said. Switzerland had more than 230 investment projects in Vietnam worth more than $2.4 billion at the end of 2025, the Vietnamese report said.

For Hanoi, the deal is part of a strategy to spread its exports across more markets and attract investment in technology and higher-value manufacturing, according to the Vietnam News Agency. For the European countries, which are not part of the European Union and negotiate trade deals as a group, it offers wider access to one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

Deals of this kind also draw skepticism. Domestic producers in wealthy countries sometimes fear competition from lower-cost imports, and rights groups often question whether sustainable-development chapters have real force. Supporters respond that lower tariffs mean cheaper goods for consumers and steadier supply chains for businesses at a time of high trade barriers elsewhere.

The signing caps a busy period for the association, which marked one year of its trade partnership with India earlier this month, according to its own announcements. The Vietnam agreement must now be ratified before any tariff cuts begin.