On January 1, the free trade agreement between Bosnia Herzegovina (BiH) and the EFTA States – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland – enters into force.
The free trade agreement (FTA) was signed in Norway on the 24th of June 2013, by minsters from Bosnia and Herzegovina and all EFTA States.
The main focus of the EFTA-Bosnia and Herzegovina Free Trade Agreement is on the liberalisation of trade in goods. EFTA and Bosnia and Herzegovina abolish all customs duties on industrial products as of the entry into force of the Agreement. Additional agricultural agreements between the individual EFTA States and Bosnia and Herzegovina form an integral part of the instruments establishing the free trade area.
While the FTA covers primarily trade in industrial goods, including fish and other marine products, bilateral agreements on agricultural products between the individual EFTA States and Bosnia and Herzegovina also form part of the instruments establishing the free trade area between the two sides. In other fields, the basis has been laid for agreeing on preferential rules in the future. A Joint Committee will supervise the functioning of the FTA, which will become effective after completion of the necessary internal procedures by the Parties.
(Source: norveska.ba/photo efta)