WT/REG462/M/1  
 
10 July 2023 
(23-4651) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundred and S eventh  Session  Original: English  
 
  
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EFTA STATES AND TÜRKİYE , 
(GOODS AND SERVICES)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 5 JULY  2023 
Chair: Ambassador H.E. Ms. Clare KELLY (New Zealand)  
1.1.  The 10 7th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA" or the 
"Committee") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/3 2/Rev.1 dated 23 June 2023.  
1.2.  Under Agenda Item H.II, the CRTA considered the Agreement establishing a  Free Trade 
Agreement be tween the EFTA States and Türkiye,  goods and services , (hereinafter "the 
Agreement"). The Chair stated that the factual presentation had been prepared by the Secretariat 
on its own responsibility in full consultation with the Parties, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of 
the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements (document WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Agreement had entered into force on 1 October 2021. It had been notified to the WTO by 
the Parties on 14 February 2022 under Articles  XXIV:7 (a) of the GATT  1994 and Article  V:7(a) of 
the GATS, in documents WT/REG4 62/N/1 and S/C/N/10 76 respectively. The Parties had indicated 
the Agreement create d a free trade area in goods within the meaning of Article XXIV of the GATT 
1994 and for trade in ser vices within the meaning of Article V of the GATS.  The text of the Agreement 
and its Annexes was available on the Parties' official websites and in the WTO RTA database. The 
Factual Presentation (document  WT/REG4 62/1) and the questions and replies on this Agreement 
(document WT/REG4 62/2) had been distributed.  
1.4.  The representative of Norway  on behalf of the EFTA States thank ed the Secretariat for 
preparing a thorough factual presentation of the A greement as well as Türkiye for its excellent 
collaboration in p reparing for th e review. She noted that t he factual presentation  which  had been 
circulated some weeks ahead of th at meeting, had provide d a comprehensive overview of the 
Agreement to other WTO Members, and the EFTA States stood ready to answer any questions in 
cooperation with  Turkish colleagues either that day or in writing.  
1.5.   She noted  that the factual presentation concern ed a modernised and expanded Agreement 
which had replaced an initial first -generation agreement signed in 1991. Twenty -three yea rs after 
the initial agreement, the EFTA States had embarked on a modernisation process of their Agreement 
with Türkiye as a sign that transparent, and predictable trade rules provide d a conducive 
environment for their respective business sectors , allowing  them to further develop and grow.  
1.6.  After six rounds of negotiations, the modernised Agreement had been signed in Iceland on 
25 June 2018. It had comprehensive coverage, including new chapters on trade in services, 
competition, trade facilitation, trade and  sustainable development, and dispute settlement, and 
updated chapters on trade in goods, rules of origin, and protection of intellectual property rights. 
The modernised Agreement  also include d improved tariff concessions in trade in goods and updated 
bilateral agricultural agreements between individual EFTA States and Türkiye. The modernised 
Agreement  cover ed services  as well , including sectors such as electronic commerce, 
telecommunication services, and financial services in all EFTA States. The Parties d eeply appreciate d 
the positive attitude and high level of expertise in negotiations that had made that achievement 
possible.  WT/REG462/M/1  
 
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  1.7.  The Agreement  had entered into force on 1 October 2021 for all Parties and although it was 
too early to judge its effects,  she wish ed to highlight some elements of a positive trend in trade 
between the Parties .  
1.8.  According to national trade statistics, total trade with Türkiye had been close to EUR 2 billion 
in 2002 and had almost tripled in the last twenty years to EUR 5.9 billion in 2022. Th at positive trend 
had benefitted all Parties; EFTA 's exports to Türkiye had doubled while EFTA 's imports had increased 
more than fivefold during th at period. Thus, the previous imbalance  in the Parties' trade relationship 
had come close to an equilibrium in the last five years.  
1.9.  Despite the COVID -19 pandemic, the trends in trade for the last five years  were similar . Trade 
had increased by almost 40% since 2018, and the Parties' trade agre ements ha d brought them 
closer despite challenging times in the world economy.  
1.10.  In 2022, the main exports from the EFTA States to Türkiye had been pharmaceutical products, 
machinery, and mineral fuels whilst apparel, vehicles, and machinery were the main i mports. 
Bilateral trade flows with Türkiye had been  dominated by manufacturing and with some intra -
industry trade.  
1.11.  Finally, as highlighted by the factual presentation, a small part of imports from Türkiye  
remain ed subject to duties in the period 2018 -2020. EFTA consider ed this to be  an important 
outcome of a trade agreement that aimed at providing stable and predictable terms of trade, and 
trade opportunities for all.  
1.12.  The EFTA States believe d that there was potential to sustain trade performance with Türkiye 
and were grateful to have a fully -fledged and modernised Agreement enabling further trade 
opportunities. The Agreement had been  the result of increased trust and strengthened economic 
links between relia ble trade partners. The trade arrangement had helped them ensure a future of 
shared and mutual benefit.  
1.13.  She thank ed WTO Members for their written questions ahead of th e meeting to which replies 
had been  provided . She looked forward to hearing remarks and answering further questions, if any.  
1.14.  The representative of Türkiye  thank ed the Secretariat for its efforts and cooperation during 
the preparation of the factual presentation on the Agreement. Türkiye's b elieved that regional  trade 
agreements (RTAs) establishing free trade areas contribute d to the development of international 
trade and provide d a favourable environment for businesspeople . Türkiye was a supporter of RTAs 
with 22 FTAs in force. It was working on increasing th at number and extending the scope of its 
existing Agreements. She reaffirm ed Türkiye's support for a rule -based multilateral trading system 
under the WTO, and strengthened WTO rules, disciplines and mechanisms in particular on RTAs.  
1.15.  She noted that t he factual presentation  already provide d detailed information about the 
structure and provisions of the Agreement  and she intended to briefly give information about it 
without repeating every detail in the factual presentation .  
1.16.  The EFTA States  were important  partners in Türkiye 's foreign trade. In 2022 , trade between 
Türkiye and the EFTA States excluding gold, had increased by 8% compared to the previous year 
and had reached USD 4.8 billion . Additionally, EFTA based companies were the 13th biggest 
investor s in Türkiye with around 1 ,333 enterprises operating  actively . 
1.17.  The original Agreement  had been  Türkiye's very first FTA signed in 1991 , even before the 
Customs Union with the E uropean Union. Due to the legal framework under the Agreement and Joint 
Committee D ecisions, the Parties economies were deeply connected to each other through value 
chains and they attach ed great importance to the continuation of th at strong relationship.  
1.18.  As a result of the Parties' intensive efforts and cooperation since 2014, they had concluded 
and signed an updated Agreement  on 25  June 2018 in Iceland and it  had entered into force on 1 
October 2021.  The Agreement was  a revised agreement which extended the scope of the 1991 
Agreemen t to certain areas such as intellectual property rights, competition, trade facilitation, 
sustainable development, dispute settlement and trade in services in addition to trade in goods. WT/REG462/M/1  
 
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  Türkiye had aimed to reflect the changing trends in global trade to its strong partnership with the 
EFTA States . 
1.19.  The Agreement set the basic rules and disciplines to be applied to trade in goods and services 
together with other trade -related issues within 10 chapters and 21 Annexes as well as 3 agreements 
on agriculture.  
1.20.  With regard to the rules of origin, it fores aw the implementation of the Regional Convention 
on Pan -Euro-Mediterranean Rules of Origin (PEM Convention).  
1.21.  Under the Agreement, customs duties on industrial products had remained zero and the 
preferential regime  for agricultural products had remained the same as had been envisioned in 1991 
for Norway and Iceland. Concessions on processed agricultural products with Norway and Iceland 
had been agreed to be equivalent to EU treatment as had been originally envisione d in the 
Agreement.  However, concessions on agricultural and processed agricultural products had been 
extended to certain new tariff lines with Switzerland. As a result, Türkiye and Switzerland had 
improved their respective market access conditions for agr icultural products.  
1.22.  On intellectual property rights, the Agreement include d certain Agreement on Trade -Related 
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights plus provisions. Similarly, by accepting the mutual recognition 
of results of the conformity assessment of products for which legislation ha d been harmonized with 
the EU or for which conformity assessment had been  deemed equivalent to that of the EU, the Parties 
had also gone beyond the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.  
1.23.  She pointed out that t rade in services was compatible with the WTO GATS. It cover ed trade 
in all services sectors under all four modes of supply and ha d a positive -list approach. There were 
separate annexes on recognition of qualifications of service suppliers, movement of natural persons 
supplying services, electronic commerce, telecommunication services, co-productions, financial 
services, health services, tourism and travel services, and international road transport and logistics 
services. Regarding the GATS plus commitments under the Agreement, the Parties had abolished 
quantitative limitations and discriminatory procedures for road transportation. The Agreement had 
also facilitated procedures for entry and temporary stay for natural person categories that enable d 
suppliers m ultiple entry visas if the necessary conditions  were fulfilled . In line with  GATS Article V, 
both Parties  had undertaken additional sectoral liberalization comparable to their commitments 
under the GATS in several areas like construction, engineering, architecture, wholesale and retail 
trade/distribution, co -production services.  
1.24.  The Parties would hold the first meetings of the Sub -Committee on customs matters and Joint 
Committee of the Agreement at the end of August. During these meetings, the y would further review 
progress of the Agreement since its entry into force in October 2021. In the sub -committee on 
customs matters, the Parties would also discuss the application of the new rules under the rev ised 
PEM Convention in the Agreement.  
1.25.  In conclusion, she  extend ed Türkiye's appreciation to the Secretariat  for its valuable work to 
prepare the factual presentation , as well as to the EFTA States for their close cooperation and 
support.  She also thank ed Argentina and Canada for their valuable questions, enabling further 
elaboration of the Agreement , and the distinguished members of the Committee for their 
participation and interest.  
1.26.  The representative of  the European Union  thanked the Parties for their pre sentations of the 
Agreement and for the transparency provided. She also wished them success in the implementation 
of the Agreement.  
1.27.  The Chair noted the consideration of the Free Trade Agreement between the Member States 
of the Free Trade Agreement between the EFTA States and Türkiye, goods and services had allowed 
the Committee to clarify a number of questions and conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordance 
with paragra ph 11 of the Transparency Mechanism. Any delegations wishing to ask follow -up 
questions were invited to forward submissions in writing to the Secretariat by 12 July 2023 and the 
Parties were asked to submit replies in writing by no later than 26 July 2023.  In accordance with 
paragraph 13 of the Transparency Mechanism all written submissions, as well as the minutes of the WT/REG462/M/1  
 
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  meeting would be circulated promptly, in all WTO official languages, and made available on the WTO 
website.  
1.28.  The Committee took note  of the  comments made.  
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