WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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II. TRADE POLICY REGIME:  FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES 
(1) OVERVIEW  
1. No significant changes have been introduced to  Norway's general legal framework since its 
last Review in 2004.  Norway acknowledges that its  economic prosperity is dependent on trade, and 
considers that a binding and predictable open tr ade regime should be accompanied by a well 
functioning and competitive domestic environment.  Norway has an independent trade policy, which 
places support for the multilateral trading system at its core. 
2. Norway is an original Member of the WTO a nd has participated actively in the multilateral 
trading system.  In the context of the DDA, Norw ay has presented several proposals individually and 
together with other Members.  It has also subm itted numerous notifications to the WTO, although a 
few are lagging in areas such as agriculture, state tr ading and import licensing.  Norway ratified the 
Fourth Protocol on basic telecommunications and the Fifth Protocol on financia l services;  it is a party 
to the Government Procurement Agreement and to the Information Technology Agreement.  It has 
been involved in multilateral dispute settlement proc edures in two cases as a respondent and in ten as 
a third party.  It is an active participant in the WTO's work on aid for trade and a significant provider 
of assistance to developing countries;  it has deci ded to increase its contribution to aid for trade from 
2008 mostly through multilateral channels. 
3. Norway sees its membership in the Eur opean Economic Area (EEA) as an essential 
complement to the multilateral trading system;  its trade related regulations are largely implemented 
within the context of its EEA membership.  As  a member of the EEA, Norway grants largely 
unrestricted access to goods, workers, services, and cap ital from other members.  In the context of the 
European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Norway is part of an expanding network of free-trade 
agreements, including FTAs with 16 trading partne rs, of which six were signed during the period 
under review.  In 2008, changes were introduced to  Norway's GSP scheme in order to expand duty-
free and quota-free access, originally granted to  LDCs, to 14 low-income developing countries. 
4. Norway maintains restrictions to foreign inv estment in fisheries, audiovisual services, and 
maritime and air transport;  with the exception of certain restrictions in the fisheries sector, these do 
not apply to investors from EEA member countries.  The participation of do mestic and all foreign 
investors is restricted by the de jure  monopolies the State holds in cer tain postal and railway services, 
and in the retail sale of alcoholic beverages.  Add itionally, in practice, the participation of national 
and foreign private investors is limited in sector s where the State holds significant shares in large 
companies, such as telecommunication, electricity, financial services, and petroleum and gas 
extraction.  Norway has bilateral investme nt treaties in force with 13 countries. 
(2) TRADE POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION  
(i) Institutional framework 
5. Norway is a constitutional monarchy with a par liamentary democratic system of government.  
Since Norway's Trade Policy Review in 2004, minor changes have been introduced in the 
constitutional regime (see below).  State power is formally distributed among three institutions:  the 
Government (the executive power), the Storting (the  legislative power) and the Supreme Court (the 
judicial power). Norway WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 
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6. The Government's most important functions ar e to submit bills and budget proposals to the 
Storting and implement decisions through the Ministries.1  Although the Constitution grants many 
executive powers to the King, these are always ex ercised by the Council of State (Council), which 
comprises a Prime Minister and 18 other Ministers.  Members of the Council who are elected 
members of the Storting are required by the Constituti on to take leave of absence from the Storting.  
7. The legislative authority is vested in the Stor ting, a unicameral parliament composed of 169 
members.  When the Storting is exercising legisla tive functions, it is divided into two chambers, the 
Odelsting and the Lagting.2  Nevertheless, in February 20 07 the Storting passed a constitutional 
amendment abolishing this division of chambers as from 2009 election.3  Parliamentary elections are 
held every four years;  the latest was in September 2005. 
8. Amongst other things, the Storting adopts the fiscal budget, fixes direct and indirect taxes, 
including import tariffs, monitors the Government and public administration, and authorizes plans and 
guidelines for state activities, including foreign policy.4  The Storting is informed of all international 
treaties signed by the Government.5   
9. Most of the issues tabled at Storting are anal ysed by one of the 12 standing committees before 
plenary discussions take place.  The standing commi ttee on foreign affairs discusses matters of trade 
policy, including the review of all international agreements and treaties.6  Consultations between the 
Government and this committee represent both an indirect way through which the Storting can 
influence the outcome of international negotiations, and a way for the Government to secure majority 
support in advance of an eventual voting process.7  Consent of the Storting is required when a treaty is 
of particular importance or necessitates a new statute or decision;  however, the Storting may not 
amend trade agreements negotiate d by the Government.  Every year the Government submits a 
proposal on tariff rates for the Storting's approval but temporary tariff reductions for agricultural 
goods may be authorized through administrative decisions (Chapter IV(2)).8   
10. Under normal circumstances bills passed by th e Storting require the King's approval before 
becoming law, but this is a formality, since the Ki ng does not usually refuse to approve a bill passed 
by the Storting.9  All Royal Decrees must be signed by the King and the Prime Minister.10  Laws and 
regulations, as well as Supreme Court d ecisions, are published in Norway's Legal Gazette ;  some have 
an unofficial translation to English.11 
11. Norway's court system comprises courts of first instance, courts of appeal and the Supreme 
Court.  The latter, Norway's highest court, is res ponsible for ensuring uniformity of the legal process 
and hears both civil and criminal cases.  Its 18 ordinary justices and Chief Justice, as well as other 
                                                      
1 Norwegian Government online information.  Viewed at:  http://www.regjeringen.no/en.html?id=4, 
and http://www.n orway.org.uk/facts/political/ government/government.htm. 
2 For further details see WTO (2004). 
3 Act No. 365 of 30 March 2007. 
4 Article 75 of the Constitution of Norway. 
5 Article 26 of the Constitution of Norway. 
6 Norwegian Parliament online information.  View ed at:  http://www.storti nget.no/english/committees. 
html. 
7 Langhelle and Rommetvedt (2004). 
8 Regulation No. 1723 of 22 D ecember 2005, which substituted Regu lation No. 1315 of 18 December 
2000;  and Regulation No. 1647 of 21 December 2001.  
9 Article 77 to 79 of the Constitution of Norway. 
10 Article 31 of the Constitution of Norway. 
11 Legal Gazette online information.  Viewed at:  http://www.lovdata.no/info/uenga.html. WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 14 
 
 
court judges, are appointed by the King-in-Council.12  In the exercise of its judicial authority, the 
Supreme Court acts wholly independently of the othe r organs of State.  The Supreme Court and the 
other courts are empowered, inter alia , to review the legality of Government decisions and the 
constitutionality of legislati on adopted by the Storting. 
(ii) Trade policy formulation, implementation, and objectives 
12. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has overall res ponsibility for the formulation of foreign trade 
policy.  It represents Norway at the WTO, and is responsible for multilateral trade negotiations.  Other 
ministries and agencies are also involved with vari ous aspects of trade policy, most notably:  the 
Ministry of Finance (tariff policy and taxation) ;  the Norwegian Customs and Excise (import and 
export control and collection of customs duties, excise duties, and VAT on importation);  the Ministry 
of Trade and Industry (preferential trade nego tiations, bilateral econo mic relations, business 
promotion abroad, and e-commerce);  and Innovati on Norway (export promotion).  The authorities 
indicate that the ministries and their subordinate directorates consult extensively on trade-related 
issues with business and other non-governmental institutions. 
13. Norway acknowledges that its economic prospe rity and high level of employment are 
dependent on trade with other countries;  it also considers that a binding and predictable open trade 
regime should be accompanied by a well func tioning and competitive domestic environment.13  I n  
order to benefit from comparative advantage and economies of scale, Norway continually seeks to 
extend access for its goods and services to new ma rkets.  It recognizes the importance of the 
multilateral trading system, and sees its participati on in the EEA as an essential complement to the 
WTO.  Norway also continues to liberalize its trad e on a bilateral basis through reciprocal agreements 
negotiated by EFTA, and through its  non-reciprocal preferential schemes for developing and least 
developed countries.   
14. As part of EFTA, Norway has concluded prefer ential trade agreements with several countries, 
and it is currently negotiating five new agreements (section (4)(ii) below).  Given that Norway's MFN 
applied tariffs on industrial goods are low and that tariff concessions to basic agriculture are usually 
limited (Chapter III(2)(iv)), through these preferenti al agreements Norway mainly seeks to promote 
trade in services and enhance the framework for investment.  
(3) FOREIGN INVESTMENT REGIME  
15. There is no single law governing foreign investme nt in Norway, the relevant legislation is 
contained across a number of statutes.  The aut horities note that Norway has no foreign investment 
policy per se;  rather, foreign investment policy is formulated for certain activities as part of broader 
policies applied in specific sectors. 
16. With certain exceptions, Norway's foreign inv estment regime is ope n and offers national 
treatment to foreign investors.  According to th e OECD, Norway's score coincides with the overall 
average in the foreign direct investment (FDI) regulatory restrictiveness index, which measures the 
restrictiveness of OECD countries towards FDI in nine economic sectors.14 
17. Norway maintains restrictions on foreign investment in certain activities related to 
audiovisual services, air transport, fisheries, and ma ritime transport (Chapter IV, sections (7)(v), (4) 
                                                      
12 King-in-Council represents the weekly meetings of the King with the Council of State. 
13 Ministry of Trade and Industry (2005);  and Ministry of Foreign Affairs online information.  Viewed 
at:  http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/se lected-topics/Trade-policy.html?id=1161. 
14 For details on the methodology, see OECD (2007a), chapter 6.   Norway WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 
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and (7)(iv)) respectively.  Under the EEA agreement,  these restrictions should not apply to citizens of 
another EEA State;  notable exceptions are the restri ctions on investment in the fisheries fleet, which 
also apply to EEA member States.  Norwegians and foreign nationals alike are subject to restrictions 
in the acquisition of real estate, particularly properties that contain forests, mines, and waterfalls.   
18. The participation of foreign investors (as well as of  private nationals) is also restricted by the 
de jure  State monopolies in certain postal services15, certain railway services16, and in the retail sale of 
alcoholic beverages (Chapter III(4)(iv)).  Additionall y, national and foreign private participation is 
limited in sectors where the State holds signifi cant shares in large companies, such as 
telecommunication, electricity, financial services, and petroleum and gas extraction.  
19. There are no controls on foreign exchange movements.  However, foreign exchange 
transactions or international transfers of monetary funds, such as dividend transfers or repatriation of 
invested capital above certain thresholds mu st be registered with the Central Bank.17 
20. Under the General Agreement on Trade in Serv ices (GATS), Norway undertook full market 
access and national treatment commitments relating to investment for a number of service activities, including telecommunication, construction and relate d engineering services, and distribution services 
(Chapter IV(7(i)). 
21. As at June 2008, Norway has bilateral investment  treaties (BITs) in force with:  Chile (1994), 
China (1985), Czech Republic (1992), Estonia ( 1992), Hungary (1992), Latvia (1992), Lithuania 
(1992), Peru (1995), Poland (1990), Romania ( 1992), Russia (1998), Slovakia (1992), and Sri Lanka 
(1985).
18  Rights and obligations under these treaties vary , but most include provisions for repatriation 
of capital, dispute settlement, and guidelin es for nationalization by the host country. 
(4) INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS  
(i) World Trade Organization 
22. Norway is an original Member and active par ticipant of the WTO.  It grants at least MFN 
treatment to all its trading partners.  Norway pa rticipated in the post-Uruguay Round negotiations on 
telecommunications and financial services;  its commitments in these areas were annexed to the 
Fourth and Fifth Protocols to the GATS.19  Norway is a party to the Agreement on Government 
Procurement and other plurilateral ag reements concluded under the WTO.  It is also a participant in 
the Information Technology Agreement. 
23. Norway has participated actively in the D oha Development Agenda (DDA) and strongly 
supports a rules-based, stable, and predictable intern ational trading system.  It believes that further 
broad-based multilateral liberaliza tion could boost economic developm ent, not least in developing 
countries.  The authorities indicate that Norway has substantial interests and is equally active in all 
areas of negotiation in the DDA.  It is prepared to  accept changes that will require the reform of its 
                                                      
15 Letters under 50 grams or domestic priority letters whose price is not more than 2.5 fold the price of 
a 20 gram letter.  Norwegian Post online information.  Viewed at:  http://www.pos ten.no/Portal/ English/About 
NorwayPost/CompanyActivity/History/. 
16 Railway Act No. 100 of 11 June 1993.  
17 Foreign Exchange Register Act, Act No. 29 of 28 May 2004. 
18 Information provided by the Norwegian authorities. 
19 WTO documents GATS/SC/66/Suppl.3, 11 April 1997, and GATS/SC/66/Suppl.4, 26 February 
1998. WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 16 
 
 
agriculture sector.20  Norway has presented proposals indi vidually, for example on TRIPS, NAMA, 
and on fisheries subsidies, and together with other Members in different areas.21  Its revised offer in 
services maintains its initial objectiv e of relaxing certain horizontal exemptions on national treatment, 
while introducing new commitments in subsectors not in its schedule and changes in areas such as 
telecommunications and transport services.22  
24. Since its last Review, Norway has submitted a pproximately 50 notifications covering various 
WTO topics (Table II.1).  At end-June 2008 some re gular notifications were outstanding, for example 
in agriculture, state trading enterprises, technical ba rriers to trade, and import licensing.  Norway has 
submitted its 2008 customs tariff to the WTO Integrated Data Base. 
Table II.1 
Selected notifications to the WTO, January 2004 to June 2008 
Legal provision Description of requirement Frequency Document 
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 
Article XVII.4(a) Products traded by state-trading 
enterprises Every three years 
(updating notifications 
in the two intervening years) No notification since 2001 
Article XXIV.7(a) Customs unions and free-trade 
areas Ad hoc WT/REG232/N/1, 18 July 2007 
WT/REG217/N/1-S/C/N/373, 
28 August 2006 WT/REG201/N/1, 7 June 2005 
WT/REG179/N/1-S/C/N/309,  
10 December 2004 
Decision of 28 November 1979 
WTO document L/4903 MFN derogation in favour of 
developing countries Ad hoc WT/COMTD/N/6/Add.3, 14 March 2005  
Agreement on Agriculture 
Article 16.2 Food aid and other assistan ce Annual G/AG/N/NOR/44, 20 November 2007 
Article 5.7 Special safeguard Annual G/AG/N/NOR/43, 12 April 2006 
Article 16.2 Food aid and other assist ance Annual G/AG/N/NOR/42, 25 January 2005 
Article 18.2 Imports under tariff quotas  Annual No notification since 2002 
Articles 18.2 and 18.3 Domestic support A nnual and Ad hoc No notification since 2003 
Agreement  on the Application of Sa nitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
Annex B, paragraph 3 Enquiry point Once;  then changes G/SPS/ENQ/22, 9 October 2007 
Annex B, paragraph 10 National notif ication authority Once;  then changes G/SPS/NNA/12, 9 October 2007 
Article 7 and Annex B Propos ed SPS regulations Ad hoc G/SPS/N/NOR/11-24, 4 September 2007a 
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade 
Articles 2, 3, 5 and 7 Proposed and adopted technical 
regulations Prior or, where urgent 
immediately after the 
measure is taken G/TBT/N/NOR/2-17, 8 June 2007a 
Articles 10.1 and 10.3 Enquiry point Once;  then changes G/TBT/ENQ/30, 22 June 2007 
Article 15.2 Implementation and 
administration measures Once;  then changes No notification since 1997 
Paragraph J of the Code of 
Good Practice for the 
Preparation, Adoption and 
Application of Standards  Work programme of bodies that 
have accepted the Code  Semi-annual Not yet submitted 
Article 10.7 Bilateral or plurilateral 
agreements Ad hoc No notification since 2001 
Table II.1 (cont'd)  
                                                      
20 Information provided by the Norwegian authorities. 
21 WTO documents TN/C/W/42, 14 June 2006, TN/RL/GEN/144, 26 January 2007, and 
TN/MA/W/7/Add.1, 11 March 2005. 
22 WTO document TN/S/O/NOR/Rev.1, 28 June 2005. Norway WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 
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Legal provision Description of requirement Frequency Document 
Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement) 
Article 16.4 Anti-dumping actions Se mi-annual G/ADP/N/153/Add.1/Rev.1,  
11 October 2007 
Agreement on Rules of Origin  
Annex II, paragraph 4  Preferential rules of or igin Ad hoc No notification since January 1997 
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures 
Article 7.3 Questionnaire Annual No  notification since January 2000 
Agreement on Safeguards    
Article 12.5 Compensation Ad hoc G/L/738, 7 April 2005 and 
G/L/738/Corr.1, 14 April 2005 
Agreement on Subsidies a nd Countervailing Measures 
Article 25 Subsidies Annual G/SCM/N/123/NOR, 20 July 2005. 
Article 25.11 Actions taken with respect to 
countervailing duties Semi-annual G/SCM/N/162/Add.1/Rev.1,  
15 November 2007 
General Agreement on Trade in Services 
Article III.4 and IV.2 Enquiry a nd contact point Once; then change s S/ENQ/78/Rev.9, 1 December 2006 
Article V.7(a) Economic integration agreements Once WT/REG179/N/1-S/C/N/309, 
10 December 2004 
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of  Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) 
Article 63.2 Laws and regulations Once;  ad hoc IP/N/1/NOR/P/1Rev.1/Add.1 -
IP/N/1/NOR/P/5/Add.1, 7 February 2005 
IP/N/1/NOR/C/3, 1 March 2004 
Agreement on Government Procurement 
Decision of the Committee 
on Government Procurement of 4 June 
1996 (GPA/1/Add.1) National legislation checklist Once No notification since 2002 
WTO document GPA/1, 
Annex 3 National threshold Biannual GPA/ W/295/Add.7, 10 October 2006 and 
GPA/W/285/Add.6, 15 March 2004 
Article XIX.5 Procurement statistics Annual GPA/88/Add.1,  12 March 2007 and 
GPA/80/Add.2-GPA/76/Add.4, 
17 November 2005 
a Refers only to the most recent document. 
Source:  WTO Secretariat. 
25. Since its last TPR in 2004, No rway has been a complainant in two disputes involving EC 
measures on salmon from Norway;  one resu lted in the adoption of a panel report.23  N o r w a y  h a s  
taken part as a third pa rty in ten other disputes.24  No formal complaints were made against Norway in 
the period under review. 
(ii) Preferential trade agreements 
(a) European Free Trade Association (EFTA)25 
26. Norway is a founding member of EFTA;  as at early 2008, the other members were Iceland, 
Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.  The EFTA Convention forms the legal basis of the organization.  A 
revised version of the Convention entered into for ce in June 2002, with the objective of extending the 
provisions of the EEA Agreement and the Switzerla nd-EC bilateral agreemen ts to the relations 
                                                      
23 WTO documents WT/DS328/1, 3 March 2005, WT/DS337/R, 16 November 2007, and 
WT/DS337/8, 8 May 2008. 
24 WTO documents WT/DS273, DS291, DS292, DS29 3, DS294, DS320, DS321, DS322, DS341 and 
DS350. 
25 For further details see WTO (2004).   WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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between the EFTA members.26  The scope of the Convention no w includes trade in services and 
investment, free movement of persons, mutual re cognition of diplomas, la nd and air transport, 
government procurement, and intellectual property rights. 
27. In 2007, merchandise trade among EFTA members represented, in value terms, less than 1% 
of EFTA's total merchandise trade;  trade between  Norway and its three EFTA partners represented 
1% of Norway's total merchandise trade.  EFTA's ma in trading partners, in value terms, are the EC 
and the United States (Chapter I(6)).27 
(b) European Economic Area (EEA)28 
28. Norway is a founding member of the EEA, which entered into force on 1 January 1994.  In 
2006, Norway conducted 77% of its trade with EEA partners (excluding EFTA -EEA partners).  The 
EEA agreement unites the EC member states and th e three EEA-EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, 
and Norway) into an Internal Market governed by the same basic rules.  Th ese rules aim to enable 
goods, services, capital, and persons to move freely about the EEA in an open environment, a concept 
referred to as the four freedoms.29  However, the EEA does not entail the application of a common 
external tariff.  The EEA agreement provides fo r equal conditions for businesses across the member 
countries, through competition and state aid rules.  It also contains horizontal provisions on related 
areas such as research and technological devel opment, social policy, environment, government 
procurement, company law, and statistics.30 
29. Although the EEA agreement contains provisi ons on various aspects of trade in basic 
agricultural and fishery products, it does not c over the EC Common Agriculture and Fisheries 
Policies, and trade in these goods has been libera lized only to a limited extent.  However, the 
agreement contains an evolutionary clause aimed at achieving progressive liberalization of agricultural trade.  To this end, it requires the pa rties to undertake biannual reviews of the conditions 
of trade in agricultural products.
31 
30. Anti-dumping and countervailing measures on prod ucts covered by the EEA agreement may 
not be applied against other EEA participants.32  Safeguards may be taken in the event of "serious 
economic, societal or environmental difficulties of a sectoral or regional nature liable to persist", and 
must be applied to all EEA participants.33 
31. To ensure uniformity across the EEA of the rules underpinning the single market, Norway 
and other EEA-EFTA states are required to transpose into domestic law, on a continuous basis, EC 
legislation covered by the agreement.  The mechanism envisaged by the agreement involves 
amending the agreement to reflect such legislation,  and then transposing th e amended part of the 
agreement into the domestic legal order of EEA-EFTA states.34  Decisions to amend the agreement 
are taken by consensus in the EEA Joint Commit tee.  There are also mandatory exchanges of 
                                                      
26 WTO document WT/REG85/R/B/4, 23 November 2006. 
27 Information provided by the Norwegian authorities. 
28 For further details see WTO (2004).   
29 The EEA Agreement can be amended to allow new participants to join.  The last EEA Enlargement 
Amendment was signed in July 2007 to allow the participation of Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EC in the same year (EFTA online information.  Viewed a t:  http://secretariat.efta.int /Web/EuropeanEconomicArea/ 
eeaenlargement). 
30 EFTA (2007). 
31 Article 19 (3), EEA Agreement. 
32 Article 26, EEA Agreement. 
33 Articles 112 and 113, EEA Agreement. 
34 Articles 97-104, EEA Agreement. Norway WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 
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information and consultations between the EC Commission and EEA-EFTA states throughout the 
elaboration and adoption of EC legislation.35 
32. The EFTA Surveillance Authority periodically  issues information on the "transposition 
deficit" to indicate how many directives, containing In ternal Market rules and principles, the EC states 
and EEA-EFTA states have failed to notify as transposed on time.36  By this measure, as at July 2007, 
Norway had fallen from 7th to 11th place in the EEA Internal Market Scoreboard, mainly due to an 
increase in its transposition deficit from 0.7% to 1.1%.37 
33. The EFTA Surveillance Authority is responsible  for monitoring the implementation by EEA-
EFTA States of their obligations under the EEA Agreem ent.  It can investigate possible infringements 
of EEA provisions, either on its own or on the basis of a complaint.38  A formal infringement 
proceeding begins with a letter of formal no tice from the Authority to the EEA-EFTA State 
concerned, requesting observations within a specified ti me limit.  If the matter is not resolved at this 
stage, the Authority issues a reasoned opinion re quiring that the EEA State take the measures 
necessary to bring the infringement to an end with in a deadline.  Should the EEA-EFTA State fail to 
comply, the Authority may bring the case before the EFTA Court.  EFTA Surveillance Authority's 
infringement cases against Norway decreased fro m 43 in November 2006 and 31 in May 2004, to 
18 cases in May 2007;  out of which, 5 were w ith regard to non-transposition and 13 to non-
conformity or incorrect application;  also, 2 were taken to the EFTA Court.39 
34. The EFTA Court is responsible mainly for dea ling with infringement actions brought by the 
EFTA Surveillance Authority against an EEA-EFTA St ate, and for appeals concerning decisions by 
the Surveillance Authority, and for the settlemen t of disputes between two or more EEA-EFTA 
States.40  The EFTA Court may also issue advisory opinions on the interpretation of EEA rules 
following a request from a domestic court.41  According to the Norwegian authorities, between 
January 2004 and April 2008, 30 such requests we re made by Norwegian courts related to free 
movement of capital, free movement of people, in surance, taxation, gaming, and trade in alcoholic 
beverages. 
35. In addition, either the EC or an EEA- EFTA State may bring a matter under dispute 
concerning EEA rules before the EEA Joint Committee;   if not resolved within a deadline it may be 
taken to the EC Court of Justice.42 
(c) Other free-trade agreements 
36. As an EFTA member, Norway is part of an e xpanding network of free-trade agreements that 
includes more than 50 countries.  Since Norway's  previous Review in 2004, EFTA has concluded 
bilateral FTAs with Canada, Egypt, Korea, Le banon, Southern African Customs Union (SACU, 
                                                      
35 Article 99, EEA Agreement. 
36 The EFTA Surveillance Au thority notes that the transposition deficit figures do not necessarily 
indicate the quality of national legislation. 
37 EFTA Surveillance Authority (2007).  
38 EFTA Surveillance Authority (2006).  
39 EFTA Surveillance Authority (2007).  
40 EFTA Court online information.  Viewed a t:  http://www.eftacourt. lu/default.asp?layout= 
article&id=128. 
41 Article 34, Agreement between the EFTA States on the Establishment of a Surveillance Authority 
and a Court of Justice. 
42 Article 111, EEA Agreement. WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland) and Tunisia.43  In addition, 
EFTA has free-trade agreements with Chile, Croatia , Israel, Jordan, Former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, Mexico, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Singapore, and Turkey.44 
37. In general, all new FTAs signed by EFTA pr ovide for free trade in non-agricultural goods 
(including fish and fish products), as well as impr oved market access for so me processed agricultural 
products;  trade in services, investment, public procur ement, and intellectual property rights are also 
covered.  Trade in basic agricultural products is cove red in bilateral agreements  negotiated separately.  
Some EFTA FTAs are asymmetrical in their implementation, granting the partner countries 
transitional periods to eliminate customs duties.45 
38. Norway also has bilateral trade agreements  with the Faeroe Islands and Greenland. 
39. As at June 2008, EFTA states were negotiating bi lateral free-trade agreements with Algeria, 
Colombia, the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the 
United Arab Emirates), India, Peru, and Thailand.   EFTA has also signed joint declarations on 
cooperation with Albania, Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), Serbia, and Ukraine.46  Norway 
and China are scheduled to start negotiations on a bilateral FTA in 2008. 
40. The bilateral FTAs with Bulgaria and Roma nia under EFTA ceased on 1 January 2007, when 
both countries became members of the EC.47  Preferential trade with the two countries now takes 
place under the EEA Agreement. 
(iii) Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) 
41. Since Norway's previous Review in 2004, th e Government has conducted a comprehensive 
revision of its GSP scheme, which it has notified the WTO.48  As of 1 January 2008, 140 developing 
countries and territories are eligible for the Norw egian scheme;  57 of these did not met the scheme 
requirements;  therefore, it is effective for 27 DC s, 11 low-income countries, and 45 middle-income 
countries.  In 2006, the utilization rate of the G SP scheme, as estimated by Statistics Norway, was 
81% for LDCs and 77% for ordinary GSP countries.49 
42. On 1 January 2008, Norway's new GSP schem e was extended to give duty- and quota-free 
market access for all goods to 14 low income countries (as well as LDCs);  as a result, duty- and 
quota-free access is granted to 64 countries.  A ccording to the authorities, the only low-income 
                                                      
43 Notified in WTO documents:  WT/REG232/N/1, 18 July 2007;  WT/REG217/N/1, 28 August 2006;  
WT/REG224/N/1, 4 January 2007;  and WT/REG201/N/1, 7 June 2005.  The EFTA-SACU FTA has not been 
notified yet. 
44 WT/REG179/N/1, 10 December 2004;  WT/REG132/N/1, 22 January 2002;  GATT document 
L/7129 and Add.1, 1 December 1992;  WT/REG133/N/1, 22 January 2002;  WT/REG117/N/1, 31 January 
2001;  WT/REG126/N/1, 22 August 2001;  WT/REG91/N/1, 18 February 2000;  WT/REG79/N/1, 
21 September 1999;  WT/REG148/N/1, 24 January 2003;  and GATT document L/6989/Add.1, 6 March 1992. 
45 EFTA online information.  Viewed at:  http://s ecretariat.efta.int/Web/Ext ernalRelations/Partner 
Countries/SACU/view. 
46 Ministry of Trade and Industry online informa tion.  Viewed at:  http://www.regjeringen.no/en/ 
dep/nhd/selected-topics/free-trade.html?id=438741. 
47 WTO document WT/REG/GEN/N/4, 2 March 2007. 
48 WTO document WT/COMTD/N/6/Add.4, 10 April 2008.  
49 The utilization rate is defined as the percentage of  imports eligible for GSP-treatment that effectively 
made use of it (Statistics Norway online information.  Viewed at:  http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/09/05/ 
uhaar_en/tab-2007-09-03-35-en.html). Norway WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 
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countries not included in this extension were tho se with a population above 75 million, which were 
India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Viet Nam as at June 2008.50 
43. All industrial goods within HS chapters 25- 97 originating in ordinary GSP countries 
(middle-income countries and the four most populat ed low-income countries), enter duty free with a 
few exceptions (mainly textiles and clothing).  Cove rage and preference marg ins for goods within HS 
chapters 1-24 are specified in five different lists ;  duty-free treatment applies to some agricultural 
products.  Some processed agricultural products are entitled to 100% reduction of the "industrial 
element" of the applied MFN tariff.  Other agricultu ral imports (notably certain types of meat, milk, 
grain, vegetables, and fruits) are considered se nsitive and therefore entitled only to a 10%, 15% or 
50% reduction of the applied MFN tariff.51  However, from January 2008 the preference margins were 
increased by 20 percentage points within the WTO quotas. 
44. Other changes to the GSP schem e, in force since 1 January 2008, are the inclusion of 
11 former republics of the Soviet Union through the adoption of the OECD/DAC list of ODA recipients.
52  All countries on the DAC list are included with  one general exception:  when a free-trade 
agreement enters into force between Norway a nd a developing country, the partner country is 
normally taken out of the GSP scheme. 
45. The reform of the GSP scheme also introduced some changes in the rules of origin and the 
safeguard provisions intended to simplify the system  (Chapter III(2)(iii)).  Furthermore, according to 
the authorities, Norway is committed to improving info rmation about the scheme, in particular in the 
least developed and low-income countries, specifi cally to make the scheme effective for as many 
countries as possible. 
(iv) Aid for Trade 
46. Norway is an active participant in the WTO's work on aid for trade;  it submitted responses to 
the questionnaire sent in 2007, as part of the fi rst OECD/WTO exercise to  monitor aid for trade.53  In 
the WTO's first Global Review of Aid for Trade in November 2007 Norway presented its Action Plan on Aid for Trade for 2008-10. 
47. The Action Plan follows the recommendations of the WTO task force on aid for trade by 
giving priority to multilateral channels, in partic ular the Integrated Framework.  Norway was the 
biggest bilateral donor to the "old" IF and, accordin g to the authorities, will increase its contributions 
considerably to the "enhanced" Integrated Fram ework from 2008 onwards.  Ot her important channels 
for the increased efforts based on the Action Plan are the International Trade Centre (ITC), UNIDO, 
and the World Bank, while existing contributions th rough other channels will be continued in most 
cases.  With respect to WTO participation in aid for trade, Norway considers that the organization 
should not expand into a development agency, alth ough continuing its technical assistance in areas 
related to WTO rules.
54 
48. Norway's 2007 Action Plan identifies as priorities:  (i) good governance and fight against 
corruption in trade matters, including initiatives on trad e policy, trade facilitation, standards, and fair 
                                                      
50 The UN population criterion for LDC status is 75 million inhabitants. 
51 WTO document WT/COMTD/N/6/Add.3, 14 March 2005. 
52 OECD online information.  Viewed at:  http://www.oecd.org/document/45/0,3343,es_2649_34447_ 
2093101_1_1_1_1,00.html. 
53 OECD (2007b). 
54 Norwegian Government online information.  View ed at:  http://www.regjeringen. no/nb/dep/ud/dep/ 
politisk_ledelse/avskjedigete/Anne-StenhammerSV/Ta ler_artikler/2007/aidfortrade.html?id= 491355. WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 22 
 
 
and responsible trade;  (ii) promo tion of intra-regional trade through, inter alia , the strengthening of 
regional institutions;  and (iii) promotion of greater participation of women in trade-related activities.  
According to the authorities, Norway's aid for trade pr iorities are thematically linked to the goals of its 
development policy.  Its Action Plan  also establishes priority for Africa and the LDCs. 
49. Norway has co-financed various evaluation ini tiatives in recent years, such as the multi-donor 
evaluation project led by the ITC in 2005.  Norway's Action Plan on Aid for Trade determines that monitoring and evaluation activities will have priority  in terms of funding, and a self-assessment of its 
aid for trade strategy will be carried out after three years (in 2010). 
50. In 1998, Norway established the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries 
(Norfund) with the objective of reducing poverty through investment in productive capacity building 
initiatives in developing countries, in particular in the least developed countries.  At its ten-year 
anniversary in March 2008, the capital of  Norfund was approximately NKr 4.5 billion 
(US$900 million).
55  The activities of Norfund, although ofte n linked to export-oriented production 
and infrastructure, have not been consid ered to be directly related to trade.56 
51. Norway's aid for trade support averaged US$138 million per year during 2001-05 (latest data 
available).57  Support for trade policy and regulations averaged US$3.8 million per year, and 
accounted for between 1.3% and 5.6% of total aid fo r trade in each year during 2001-05;  support for 
trade development averaged US$34.7 million (11.3% to 30.9% of total annual aid for trade);  and 
support for trade-related infrastructure av eraged US$99.5 million (63.5% to 87.4%). 
52. In an effort to improve the quality of the data, Norway re-estimated its aid for trade support in 
category 1 (the more "narrow" trade agenda compri sing trade-related technical assistance and capacity 
building through multilateral organizations) for 200 5 to be approximately US$16 million.  The 
amount of support remained roughly unchanged during 2006 and increased slightly in 2007, to reach 
US$17.5 million.  The authorities also confirm that the budget will increase by an additional 
US$12 million in 2008.  In this respect, the Norw egian authorities underline the importance of new 
funds being "additional".  The increase in aid for trade should not affect important efforts in other 
areas, not least in the social sectors related to  the most vulnerable inhabitants in the poorest 
countries.58 
53. Norway donated US$1.9 million to the Doha De velopment Agenda Trust Fund (DDAGTF) in 
2007, and was one of the two main contributors to WTO Public Fora that took place in 2006 and 
2007.  In addition, it allocated substantial contributio ns to travel support for LDC participants to the 
Hong Kong Conference, and to the preparations of the African Union trade ministers' meeting in 
Cairo in autumn 2005.  In 2007, Norway established a new facility for travel support to participants 
from the capitals of LDCs to the Negotiating Group  on Trade Facilitation, which was used by several 
LDCs.  In November 2007, Norway and the WTO signed two agreements for Norwegian 
                                                      
55 Norfund online information.  Viewed at:  h ttp://www.norfund.no/index.php?option=com_content& 
task=blogcategory&id=20&Itemid=19. 
56 OECD (2007b). 
57 Aid for trade data in this section comprise support under the "trade policy and regulations" and "trade 
development" categories of the WTO/OECD Trade Capac ity Building Database, and support for trade-related 
infrastructure under the following "purpose codes" in th e OECD Creditor Reporting Sy stem:  "2.1 transport and 
storage", "2.2 communications", and "2.3 energy generation and supply".  Data are provided in constant 2004 US$, and on the basis of commitments, rather than expe nditures.  A commitment is a firm obligation expressed 
in writing and backed by the necessa ry funds, undertaken by an official donor to provide assistance for a 
specified purpose and under specified financial terms an d conditions for the benefit of the recipient country. 
58 OECD (2007b). Norway WT/TPR/S/205/Rev.1 
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contributions over the two-year pe riod 2007-08 to the new trade facilitation trust fund and to the 
Standards and Trade Development Facility. 
54. Norway contributes US$0.5 million annually to  the Advisory Centre on WTO Law, and 
intends to make additional contri butions in order to secure the future financing of the centre.  
Norway's contribution to the IF so far, incl uding the commitments for 2007, is approximately 
US$13 million.  Annual contributions to the ITC and the Joint Integrated Assistance Program (JITAP) 
have amounted to approximately US$2.5 million.  In 2007, cooperation started with the World 
Customs Organisation (WCO) on trade facilitation activ ities.  Efforts related to TBT/SPS have, to a 
large extent, been channelled through UNIDO, with  a contribution of appr oximately US$2.7 million 
in 2007.59 
                                                      
59 Information provided by the Norwegian authorities.