EFTA Bulletin (Switzerland) articles from July 2006

EFTA Bulletin (Switzerland) archives from July 2006

Foreword.
July 1, 2006... This edition of the EFTA Bulletin looks at EPTA's free trade relations with partner countries outside the European Union. When established almost 50 years ago, EFTA was based on the premise of free trade as a means of achieving growth and...

The EFTA way--half a century of free trade.(European Free Trade Association)
July 1, 2006... EFTA is the world's oldest free trade area. It was launched in 1960 by the Stockholm Convention, primarily in response to the European Economic Community, which was established in 1957. Despite the fact that EFTA has considerably shrunk over...

Chapter 1: EFTA's free trade policy.(European Free Trade Association)
July 1, 2006... EFTA in the Global Trading System The preceding article and the views and perspectives expressed in Chapter III demonstrate how EFTA's free trade policy opens up real trade and commercial opportunities on a range of interests within civil...

EFTA free trade agreements and Swiss foreign economic policy.(European Free Trade Association)
July 1, 2006... Switzerland's economic welfare is heavily dependent on foreign trade and investment as its home market is relatively small and the country has few natural resources. It is therefore a prime objective of Switzerland's foreign economic policy to...

In focus: the EFTA-Singapore free trade agreement.(European Free Trade Association)
July 1, 2006... EFTA's interest in negotiating with Singapore--a trading nation par excellence--had many reasons. Foremost among them was that companies from all over the world, including from the EFTA States, use Singapore as a hub and to co-ordinate their...

The Singaporean view.(Interview)
July 1, 2006... It is now over three years since this agreement entered into force. What has been achieved? We are happy to note that there has been an increase in trade between Singapore and the EFTA countries since the coming into force of the VIA in...

The role of the EFTA Secretariat.(European Free Trade Association)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Through the EFTA Convention, all four EFFA States pursue their trade relations together, each EFTA State doing so in its own right, i.e., without surrendering any treaty-making power. Co-ordination among the EFTA States and between EFTA and its...

Chapter II: components of EFTA free trade agreements.(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... All EFTA free trade agreements with third countries cover trade in industrial products, including fish, and processed agricultural products. With some minor exceptions, all tariffs on industrial products in the EFTA States are eliminated once...

Services and investment.
July 1, 2006... In the last few years, services, investments and other topics beyond trade in goods have become subjects of an increasing number of trade agreements. An early example is the "four freedoms" (free movement of goods, services, persons and...

Intellectual property rights.
July 1, 2006... For a long time, trade liberalisation only focused on the reduction of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade. These were the most burdensome hurdles in international trade. But with time and the gradual elimination of these hurdles, other...

Fisheries--importance for the seafood sector.
July 1, 2006... The Norwegian seafood industry is of essential importance to our country. We export seafood at a value of close to 4 billion euros per year, to more than 150 countries around the world. Of our total output, we export more than 96%. It is not...

Agriculture.
July 1, 2006... The EFTA countries do not have a common agricultural policy. Basic agricultural products are dealt with in separate bilateral agreements between each EFTA State and the partner country in question--allowing each EFTA State the flexibility to...

Trade and development--the EFTA-SACU agreement.(European Free Trade Association, Southern African Customs Union)
July 1, 2006... Since the early 1990s, the EFTA States have successfully concluded free trade agreements with a number of developing countries. As of May 2006, nine of EFTA's 15 FTAs are with developing countries (5). In addition, the recently concluded...

Cumulation.(European Free Trade Association)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... So far, the Bulletin has covered services and investment, intellectual property, fisheries, agriculture and development. It now explores cumulation, a less common topic but nevertheless an important feature of EFTA's trade landscape. Cumulation...

What is cumulation?(international trade)
July 1, 2006... Cumulation is a deviation from basic rules of origin which promotes and enhances trade between free trade partners. Basic origin rules specify that only products entirely produced in one country, using only materials from that country, or...

Euro-Med free trade area: the benefits of cumulation.
July 1, 2006... In November 1995, European Union and Mediterranean Foreign Ministers signed the historic Barcelona Declaration, which marked the start of a new partnership between the EU and 12 Mediterranean partners (7). The Declaration's three main...

Euro-Med: important for the Swiss textiles and clothing industry.
July 1, 2006... New Cumulation of Origin: Euro-Med Zone After years of difficult negotiations and an intensive persuasion campaign, the efforts of the Swiss textiles and clothing industry have at last been rewarded: on 1 January 2006, the EU-EFTA-Morocco...

Chapter III: stakeholders' views.(European Free Trade Association)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... What has been the impact of EFTA's free trade agreements? How do our stakeholders view them? And what do they want from EFTA's third country policy in the future? To help us answer these questions and more, this chapter provides a forum for the...

EFTA's third country relations: promoting free trade.(European Free Trade Association)
July 1, 2006... Promotion of free trade has been at the core of Iceland's foreign trade policy for several decades. Closely intertwined with our foreign trade policy has been our economic policy, a key objective of which is to create an attractive and stable...

Economiesuisse.(Swiss foreign economic relations)
July 1, 2006... Swiss business is a global business. Our companies and multinational corporations have close relations with major markets in the Americas, Asia and elsewhere. Swiss business supports open markets and free trade in both directions. Our...

Social clauses in trade agreements--EFTA must follow up on EU initiatives.(European Free Trade Association, European Union)
July 1, 2006... The international trade union movement has over the past years worked actively to gain acceptance for the inclusion of social clauses in international trade agreements. We believe that social clauses will contribute to promoting trade union...

Icelandic Chamber of Commerce.
July 1, 2006... By the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce The Benefits for Icelandic Businesses are Clear and Concrete Local businesses do not exist anymore. They are a thing of the past. Some people may disagree and point out that surely there are...

Liechtenstein Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
July 1, 2006... Liechtenstein is a diversified export nation with a high share of manufacturing and industrial production. Given its small and liberal domestic base, the industry is used to competing in the global market. Gaining access to and succeeding in...

Chapter IV: regional trade agreements and multilateral trade liberalisation: twin tracks towards the same goal?
July 1, 2006... When EFTA was created in 1960, the organisation's objective was to establish a free trade area and eliminate tariffs and quantitative restrictions for industrial products. This was in contrast to the more ambitious project of creating a common...

The WTO as an insurance policy against bad regional trade agreements.(World Trade Organization)
July 1, 2006... The proliferation of regional trade agreements has become a growing feature of today's global trading environment. The spheres and respective roles of bilateral/regional versus multilateral trade is now a constant subject of debate. There is a...

The European Union's policy on regional free trade agreements.
July 1, 2006... Regionalism vs. Multilateralism This is a good moment to examine the growth in the number of bilateral regional trade agreements as trading partners of the WTO are poised at a decisive moment in the Doha Round. The rate with which new...

Regionalism and the multilateral trading system: going beyond the WTO.(World Trade Organization)
July 1, 2006... As regional trade agreements grow in number, it is timely to explore the nature of the complementarity between the multilateral trading system and RTAs. It is particularly appropriate to focus on the rule-making dimension of regional trade...

EFTA's free trade partners in merchandise trade: 2005.(ANNEX I)(European Free Trade Association)(Table)
July 1, 2006... ANNEX I EFTA's free trade partners in merchandise trade: 2005 Rank Country Total Share Exports Share No trade % mn USD % mn...

EFTA's main trading partners in merchandise trade: 2005.(ANNEX II)(European Free Trade Association)(Table)
July 1, 2006... ANNEX II EFTA's main trading partners in merchandise trade: 2005 (in million USD and %) Rank Country Total Share No trade % ...

Abbreviations.(Brief article)(List)
July 1, 2006... ACP: African, Caribbean and Pacific countries ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations BIT: Bilateral Investment Treaties BLNS: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland BoP: Balance of Payment CAP: Common...