GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Jun 26, 2026
EFTA Free Trade Agreement
A Swiss pharmaceutical company exporting active ingredients to Mexico pays substantially reduced import duties under the EFTA–Mexico agreement – a routine illustration of how EFTA free trade agreements work in practice.
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Source: https://www.efta.int/free-trade
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A Swiss pharmaceutical company exporting active ingredients to Mexico pays substantially reduced import duties under the EFTA–Mexico agreement – a routine illustration of how EFTA free trade agreements work in practice. EFTA (European Free Trade Association), comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, negotiates trade agreements with third countries independently of the EU. An EFTA Free Trade Agreement is a bilateral or multilateral treaty that progressively eliminates tariffs, establishes rules of origin, and harmonizes customs procedures between one or more EFTA members and a partner country. Unlike EU agreements, each EFTA member ratifies the treaty separately and issues its own certificates of origin. Freight forwarders must therefore identify precisely which EFTA country is the exporting party: cumulation rules, accepted documentation formats, and preferential rates can differ by member state, even when destination and trade route are identical.
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