Norway and Ukraine sign a new, modernised free trade agreement
Press release | Date: 08/04/2025 | Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries
Today, 8 april 2025, Norway and the three other EFTA states — Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland — signed a new and modernised free trade agreement with Ukraine. The agreement was signed in Kyiv.
- This is an important milestone. The agreement is a significant contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s political and economic integration with Europe, and will help boost Ukraine’s economic development and growth, said Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth.
The free trade agreement was signed by Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko, Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth, Iceland’s Minister of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education Logi Einarsson, Ambassador Frank J. Büchel of Liechtenstein, and Ambassador Jacques Gerber, Swiss Special Envoy for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.
- The support Ukraine has received from the EFTA states is invaluable. We are confident that this modernised Free Trade Agreement will bring tangible benefits to Ukraine and the EFTA states by creating conditions for even greater cooperation, opening up new opportunities for businesses and contributing to enhanced living standards of our peoples in these challenging times, says Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy.
- In today’s world, it is more important than ever to work for a rules-based and open global trading system, and strong business cooperation across Europe. This free trade agreement creates new opportunities for businesses both in Ukraine and Norway, said Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth.
Closer Cooperation Between Norwegian and Ukrainian Businesses
Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth is currently in Kyiv with representatives from Norwegian businesses to strengthen trade cooperation and encourage greater private sector involvement.
- Norwegian businesses are eager to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine—both now and once Russia’s illegal war has ended. The new agreement sends a clear signal to the business community to invest in Ukraine, and we will continue working to strengthen the economic ties between our two countries, said Minister Myrseth.
While in Kyiv, Minister Myrseth also held a bilateral meeting with Minister Svyrydenko, accompanied by representatives from Norwegian businesses. Together with her counterpart in the Norwegian-Ukrainian Economic Commission, Minister of Energy Halushchenko, she visited Maidan Square, followed by the official opening of Innovation Norway’s office and the Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce’s Norwegian-Ukrainian Business Hub.
Background
The modernised FTA includes new chapters on electronic commerce, small and medium-sized enterprises, and trade and sustainable development, as well as revised provisions on trade in goods, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade facilitation, government procurement, cooperation and protection of intellectual property. The Agreement has also updated market access for goods and liberalises trade in certain product categories. This will deepen trade relations and provide greater market access for businesses on both sides.
Bilateral EFTA–Ukraine merchandise trade reached almost EUR 1.1 billion in 2024. The main imports to the EFTA States were fats and oils (EUR 37 million), precious stones and metals (EUR 26 million), woven apparel or clothing accessories (EUR 22 million), furniture, mattresses, and similar furnishing (EUR 20 million), and beverages and spirits (EUR 20 million). The main exports to Ukraine were fish and crustaceans (EUR 229 million), pharmaceutical products (EUR 143 million), arms and ammunitions (EUR 77 million), vehicles (EUR 77 million), and electrical machinery (EUR 44 million).