EFTA-Russia Study positive on possible Free Trade Agreement

The EFTA-Russia Joint Study Group, composed of government experts, was established by Ministers in December 2007 and met four times in the course of 2008. In its report, the Group comes to a positive assessment of the feasibility and potential of a broad-based Free Trade Agreement between the Parties.

Following up on the report, the EFTA States and Russia have started preparing for the launch of free trade negotiations during the second half of 2009. At a meeting held in this context on 5 May 2009 in Geneva, representatives of the Parties agreed to publish a summary of the report by the Joint Study Group (to access the summary click here).

Merchandise trade between the EFTA countries and Russia developed dynamically in recent years. In 2008, it reached 7.1 billion USD, with EFTA's exports to Russia amounting to 4.1 billion USD, and imports from Russia to 3 billion USD. Russian statistics show even higher figures. Bilateral trade in services and direct investment also experienced significant growth rates.