6 Dec 2018
INDONESIA: FTA Negotiations Concluded with European Free Trade Association
The country has successfully concluded negotiations with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – an intergovernmental organisation representing Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – with regard to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The comprehensive agreement covers a wide range of issues, including the trade in goods and services between the two parties, investment protocols, mutual acknowledgement of intellectual property rights and participation in future government procurement initiatives. Following the success of the talks, it is expected that the treaty will be ratified before the end of the year.
It may be up to two years, however, before the agreement is fully implemented, with both signatories needing time to properly align their regulatory frameworks. In terms of the value of the deal, in 2017, total merchandise trade between Indonesia and the EFTA bloc amounted to US$2.3 billion. Of this, Indonesia’s EFTA-bound exports totalled US$1.7 billion, while its imports from the four-string trading group came in at US$597 million.
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