EFTA and Indonesia conclude trade negotiations

From left: Henri Gétaz, EFTA Secretary-General, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Iceland, Enggartiasto Lukita, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland, Aurelia Frick, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Culture of Liechtenstein, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, Minister of Trade and Industry of Norway.

The CEPA covers all areas normally included in EFTA’s comprehensive free trade agreements, such as trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights, competition, government procurement, trade and sustainable development, cooperation and capacity building as well as legal and horizontal provisions.

The EFTA-Indonesia Joint Statement was signed by Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Iceland, Ms Aurelia Frick, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Culture of Liechtenstein, and Mr Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, Minister of Trade and Industry of Norway, as well as by Mr Enggartiasto Lukita, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia.

Negotiations towards a CEPA were launched in July 2010, with the first round held early 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Since then, 15 rounds of negotiations and a number of Heads of delegation and experts' meetings have been held.

"There is a saying in German: “Gut Ding will Weile haben”, which means “Good things need time”. I am personally convinced, that the CEPA is not only a good, but an excellent thing, a real landmark in the relations between our countries. And so it is perfectly fine, that the process took some time," said Johann N. Schneider-Ammann who chaired the EFTA Ministerial on 23 November.

Economic relations between the EFTA States and Indonesia

Merchandise trade between the EFTA States and Indonesia amounted to USD 2.3 billion in 2017. The EFTA States exported goods worth USD 597 million, with the leading exports being machinery and mechanical appliances, pharmaceutical products and mineral fuels. EFTA imported goods worth USD 1.7 billion in 2017, with gold as the most significant import, followed by footwear and electrical machinery.

EFTA as a trade partner

EFTA’s global network of preferential trade agreements outside the EU now consists of 28 agreements with 39 partners. Six joint declarations of cooperation (JOINT STATEMENTs) complement this network. Over 12 percent of EFTA’s total exports go to these trade partners and they are the source of 7.5 percent of EFTA imports. In 2017, EFTA’s global trade accounted for USD 766 billion, 43.5% of which was with countries outside the EU.

Further information on EFTA-Indonesia trade can be found with the EFTA Trade Statistics Tool.

Find more pictures from the signing ceremony here.