Vietnam signed a free-trade agreement in Hanoi on Sunday, 18 October, with the European Free Trade Association: Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It is not the EU. The signing took place in the presence of General Secretary and President To Lam. Vietnam’s industry and trade minister, Le Manh Hung, signed. The deal is not yet in force.

Talks began in 2012, stalled in 2018 and restarted in 2025. In July 2026 the parties announced they had closed negotiations. DW, with AFP and Reuters, reported the signing. The Norwegian government confirmed the same figures: about half of Norway’s exports to Vietnam will be tariff-free at entry into force; more than 98% within seven years.

Norwegian salmon, now taxed at up to 15%, would enter duty-free. Mackerel would be phased over three years. The text covers goods and services, intellectual property, trade remedies and sustainable development. EFTA puts last year’s bilateral trade at €4.8 billion. Vietnam’s ministry speaks of about $2 billion a year on average. The figures do not match exactly; they stay on their sources.

Hanoi said the deal showed a will to reinforce rules-based trade in a volatile world economy and to diversify markets. Norway’s foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, called it his government’s seventh free-trade agreement and a need to diversify. The signature is not EU accession and not an automatic cut in shop prices.

For EFTA, Vietnam’s ministry listed Guy Parmelin (Switzerland), Brigitte Haas (Liechtenstein), Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir (Iceland) and Astrid Bergmal (Norway). Vietnam’s export list, from the ministry, is seafood, footwear, textiles, machinery and electronics; its imports are equipment, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and raw materials.

Until ratification and notification, VEFTA remains a signed treaty, not an applied tariff. Any 98% or duty-free salmon figure is conditional on the entry-into-force date, still “pending” on EFTA’s page. This is not trade advice.

Image: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, shrine at Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; the city lake, not the 18 October 2026 signing table.

Sources consulted: Vietnam signs free trade deal with four European countries - DW; Free trade agreement with Viet Nam signed - Government of Norway.