WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/REG86/R/B/2
G/L/467
8 August 2001
(01-3944)
Original:  English
EFTA-TURKEY FREE TRADE AREA
Biennial Report on the Operation of the Agreement
Communication from the Parties
The Agreement between the States of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and
Turkey was examined in accordance with Article XXIV of GATT.  In accordance with the
recommendations approved by the Council for Trade in Goods1, as recommended by the Committee
on Regional Trade Agreements2, and the reporting schedule established by the WTO Secretariat3, the
Parties to the Agreement establishing the Free Trade Area between the EFTA States and Turkey
herewith provide their biennial report on the operation of the Agreement covering the periodsince 1999.  The Parties to the Agreement submitted a biennial report on the operation of the
Agreement on 28 May 1999, circulated  in WT/REG86/R /B/1;  G/L/349.
Main Developments
The Parties have continued to pay attention to updating and upgrading the Agreement.
During the reporting period (1999-2000), the Joint Committee held one meeting on
16 November 2000, and has adopted five Joint Committee Decisions (amendments to Protocol B,
Annexes I and II and introduction of a Protocol on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs
Matters).  For further details, see Annex I.
I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AGREEMENT
1. Membership and Dates of Signature, Ratification and Entry into Force
The Agreement establishing a Free Trade Area between the EFTA States and Turkey was
signed on 10 December 1991.4  The Agreement has been in force since April 1992 (September 1992
for Iceland).  Austria, Finland and Sweden ceased to  be Parties to the FTA, following their withdrawal
from the Stockholm Convention and subsequent accession to the European Union on 1 January 1995.
4. Trade Data
According to the EFTA Secretariat’s statistical sources, trade between the EFTA States and
Turkey contracted by 8.4 per cent in the period from 1997 to 2000.  EFTA imports from Turkey
increased by 3.1 per cent and EFTA exports to Turkey decreased by 11.9 per cent during the same
period.  However, total trade increased by 12.9 per cent from 1999 to 2000.
                                                     
1 G/L/286.
2 WT/REG/4.
3 WT/REG/W/42.
4 The Agreement can be consulted on the EFTA web page: http://www.efta.int/library/legal/fta/turkey/.WT/REG86/R/B/2
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The trade balance between the two was in favour of the EFTA States in the period 1997
to 2000.  In 2000, EFTA exports to Turkey amounted to 1,017 million US dollars while imports from
Turkey amounted to 361 million US dollars.
Among the EFTA States, Switzerland was Turkey’s largest trading partner in 2000,
accounting for 77.8 per cent of the trade, follow ed by Norway with 21.6 per cent and Iceland with
0.6 per cent.
In the period 1997 to 2000, the EFTA States’ total trade increased by 6.9 per cent, or in
absolute terms from 239.7 billion US dollars to 256.1 billion US dollars.  Both import and exportfigures showed the same positive trend.
In the period 1997 to 2000, Turkey’s share of EFTA’s total trade with the world has
decreased from 0.63 per cent to 0.54 per cent.  With regard to other free trade partners, the share of
Turkey’s trade with the EFTA States’ total preferential trade (including trade with the EU) decreasedfrom 0.9 per cent in 1997 to 0.75 per cent in 2000.
Detailed trade data can be found in Annex II.
II. TRADE PROVISIONS
1. Import Restrictions2. Export Restrictions
The Parties have eliminated the remaining duties on freshwater fish (Annex II to Agreement)
and reduced the list of products exempted from coverage of the Agreement (Annex I to Agreement)
(see Annex I).
3. Rules of Origin
Since all Parties to the Agreement are included in the system of pan-European cumulation
system, annual amendments to Protocol on Origin Rules (Protocol B) have been made in 1999
and 2000 (see Annex I).  In 2000, the Parties adopted a Decision on the introduction of a Protocol on
Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters.  The Protocol introduces an enhanced
co-operation between customs administrations aiming at contributing towards the effective fightagainst customs fraud (see Annex I).
III. GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT
5. Institutional Framework
A Joint EFTA-Turkey Committee has been established under the Agreement.  The aim of the
Joint Committee is to supervise and administer the implementation of the Agreement as well as
review the possibility of further removal of obsta cles to trade between the Parties.  The Joint
Committee is assisted by expert groups, in particular by the Sub-Committee on Customs and Origin
Matters.  Other expert groups can be convened, as agreed.  During the reporting period, the fifth Joint
Committee took place on 16 November 2000 in Geneva.WT/REG86/R/B/2
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ANNEX 1
Amendments to the EFTA-Turkey FTA since 1999
Articles/
AnnexesDescription Amendments/
DeletionsRemarks Entry into Force
Protocol B Rules of
OriginAmended JCD of
28.09.99Technical amendments Entered into force
01.01.2000
Annex I Products not
covered by the
AgreementAmended JCD of
16.11.2000List of products
exempted from coverage
was shortened.Entry into force is
pending national
acceptances
Annex II Fish and other
marineproductsAmended JCD of
16.11.2000The last remaining
exceptions forfreshwater fish were
eliminated.Entry into force is
pending nationalacceptances
Protocol B Rules of
OriginAmended JCD of
16.11.2000Technical amendments Entry into force is
pending national
acceptances
Protocol D Mutual
Admin.
Assistance in
CustomsMattersAmended JCD of
16.11.2000Introduction of a new
Protocol on enhanced
co-operation among
customs administrations.Entry into force is
pending national
acceptancesWT/REG86/R/B/2
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ANNEX II
Detailed Trade Data
Statistical information on:
∙ EFTA States’ trade with Turkey 1997-2000
∙ EFTA States’ trade with Turkey by selected commodities (HS) 1997-2000
∙ Development of EFTA States’ trade with Turkey 1993-2000
∙ EFTA States’ trade with the world 1997-2000
∙ EFTA States’ trade with the world by selected commodities (HS) 1997-2000WT/REG86/R/B/2
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EFTA STATES' TRADE WITH TURKEY
1997 1998 1999 2000 1997/98 1998/99 99/2000
In thousand US dollars Percentage Change
IMPORTS
Iceland 2,838 4,110 4,423 6,428 44.8 7.6 45.3
Norway 126,920 131,897 121,078 115,764 3.9 -8.2 -4.4
Switzerland 220,119 229,257 247,246 238,446 4.2 7.8 -3.6
EFTA 349,877 365,264 372,747 360,638 4.4 2.0 -3.2
Share in EFTA's tot. imports 0.31% 0.30% 0.32% 0.31%
EXPORTS
Iceland 1,384 554 906 1,348 -60.0 63.5 48.8
Norway 170,660 130,866 144,291 181,970 -23.3 10.3 26.1
Switzerland 982,034 908,180 701,869 833,309 -7.5 -22.7 18.7
EFTA 1,154,078 1,039,600 847,066 1,016,627 -9.9 -18.5 20.0
Share in EFTA's tot. exports 0.91% 0.86% 0.67% 0.73%
IMPORTS + EXPORTS
Iceland 4,222 4,664 5,329 7,776 10.5 14.3 45.9
Norway 297,580 262,763 265,369 297,734 -11.7 1.0 12.2
Switzerland 1,202,153 1,137,437 949,115 1,071,755 -5.4 -16.6 12.9
EFTA 1,503,955 1,404,864 1,219,813 1,377,265 -6.6 -13.2 12.9
Share in EFTA's total trade 0.63% 0.58% 0.50% 0.54%
 No percentage calculated
Source: World Trade Atlas  6.43  1.35  116182238833
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 
Iceland  Norway SwitzerlandEFTA States' trade with Turkey  
(2000 - million US dollars)
Import
ExportWT/REG86/R/B/2
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EFTA STATES' TRADE WITH TURKEY BY SELECTED COMMODITIES (HS)
1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000
IMPORTS In thousand US dollars In per cent
Iceland
Total imports from Turkey 4,110 4,423 6,428 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of imports from world 0.18% 0.19% 0.27%
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 1,403 1,223 1,369 34.1 27.7 21.3
     HS 61  Knitted apparel or clothing accessories 885 1,028 1,278 21.5 23.2 19.9
     HS 62  Woven apparel or clothing accessories 770 785 1,183 18.7 17.7 18.4
Norway
Total imports from Turkey 131,897 121,078 115,764 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of imports from world 0.35% 0.36% 0.37%
     HS 61  Knitted apparel or clothing accessories 33,732 30,218 31,490 25.6 25.0 27.2
     HS 62  Woven apparel or clothi ng accessories 20,583 22,185 22,779 15.6 18.3 19.7
     HS 99  Salvage, reparations 20,038 14,641 17,370 15.2 12.1 15.0
     HS 63  Miscellaneous textile articles 6,141 8,630 7,090 4.7 7.1 6.1
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 11,385 10,056 6,982 8.6 8.3 6.0
     HS 98  Fruit and nuts 6,767 5,965 5,082 5.1 4.9 4.4
     HS 20  Preparations of vegetables, fruit 5,488 5,803 4,256 4.2 4.8 3.7
     HS 84  Machinery, mechanical appliances 2,617 4,138 3,022 2.0 3.4 2.6
Switzerland
Total imports from Turkey 229,257 247,246 238,446 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of imports from world 0.29% 0.31% 0.29%
     HS 08  Fruit and nuts 57,050 49,041 43,315 24.9 19.8 18.2
     HS 61  Knitted apparel or clothing accessories 44,412 39,549 40,259 19.4 16.0 16.9
     HS 62  Woven apparel or clothi ng accessories 29,872 29,236 24,668 13.0 11.8 10.3
     HS 24  Tobacco 12,846 13,671 18,116 5.6 5.5 7.6
     HS 87  Vehicles (not railway) 4,132 18,004 17,630 1.8 7.3 7.4
     HS 30  Pharmaceutical products 7,884 11,172 14,526 3.4 4.5 6.1
     HS 63  Miscellaneous textile articles 8,452 11,494 13,498 3.7 4.6 5.7
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 7,204 8,882 9,147 3.1 3.6 3.8
     HS 20  Preparations of vegetables, fruit 4,445 8,316 6,588 1.9 3.4 2.8
     HS 40  Rubber 4,361 4,404 5,367 1.9 1.8 2.3
EXPORTS In thousand US dollars In per cent
Iceland
Total exports to Turkey 554 906 1,348 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of exports to world: 0.03% 0.05% 0.07%
     HS 38  Misc. chemical products 0 0 308 0.0 0.0 22.8
     HS 72  Iron and steel 0 0 249 0.0 0.0 18.5
     HS 68 Stone, plaster, cement 231 204 245 41.7 22.5 18.2
Norway
Total exports to Turkey 130,866 144,291 181,970 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of exports to world: 0.32% 0.32% 0.32%
     HS 27  Mineral fuels, oil 34,541 39,550 96,522 26.4 27.4 53.0
     HS 99  Salvage, reparations 12,844 12,622 19,549 9.8 8.7 10.7
     HS 76  Aluminium and articles thereof 28,378 36,862 14,120 21.7 25.5 7.8
     HS 03  Fish, crustaceans 4,828 9,286 12,630 3.7 6.4 6.9
     HS 84  Machinery, mechanical appliances 10,136 6,442 9,952 7.7 4.5 5.5
     HS 48  Paper, paperboard 5,718 4,612 4,676 4.4 3.2 2.6
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 4,078 8,070 3,529 3.1 5.6 1.9
     HS 41  Hides and skins 2,964 1,240 3,125 2.3 0.9 1.7WT/REG86/R/B/2
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1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000
Switzerland
Total exports to Turkey 908,180 701,869 833,309 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of exports to world: 1.15% 0.87% 1.04%
     HS 84  Machinery, mechanical appliances 297,785 151,940 211,671 32.8 21.6 25.4
     HS 30  Pharmaceutical products 108,149 142,030 146,805 11.9 20.2 17.6
     HS 29  Organic chemicals 112,012 107,504 114,860 12.3 15.3 13.8
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 54,499 34,422 56,487 4.0 4.9 6.8
     HS 32  Tanning, dye, paints, putty, inks 57,005 38,849 43,325 6.3 5.5 5.2
     HS 91  Clocks and watches 34,738 25,289 34,568 3.8 3.6 4.1
     HS 90  Optical, medical, surgical instruments 36,724 28,310 30,323 4.0 4.0 3.6
     HS 54  Manmade filaments 20,362 19,299 25,211 2.2 2.7 3.0
     HS 33  Perfumery, cosmetics 19,870 19,670 20,279 2.2 2.8 2.4
     HS 39  Plastic articles 18,957 19,977 19,384 2.1 2.8 2.3
Source:  World Trade Atlas
EFTA STATES' TRADE WITH TURKEY 1991-2000
(in million US dollars)
Source:  World Trade Atlas02004006008001,0001,2001,400
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000Imports
ExportsWT/REG86/R/B/2
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EFTA STATES' TRADE WITH THE WORLD
1997 1998 1999 2000 1997/98 1998/99 99/2000
In thousand US dollars Percentage Change
IMPORTS
Iceland 1,851,157 2,284,704 2,315,759 2,380,086 23.4 1.4 2.8
Norway 35,673,861 37,451,092 33,779,975 31,674,645 5.0 -9.8 -6.2
Switzerland 75,770,047 80,267,624 80,008,545 82,411,758 5.9 -0.3 3.0
EFTA 113,295,065 120,003,420 116,104,279 116,466,489 5.9 -3.2 0.3
Share in EFTA's tot. 100% 100% 100% 100%
EXPORTS
Iceland 1,850,720 1,926,744 2,001,400 1,889,770 4.1 3.9 -5.6
Norway 48,495,496 40,374,441 44,82 4,714 57,367,564 -16.7 11.0 28.0
Switzerland 78,021,445 78,842,006 80,295,179 80,402,473 3.7 1.8 0.1
EFTA 126,367,661 121,143,191 127,121,293 139,659,807 -4.1 4.9 9.9
Share in EFTA's tot. 100% 100% 100% 100%
IMPORTS +
EXPORTS
Iceland 3,701,877 4,211,448 4,317,159 4,269,856 13.8 2.5 -1.1
Norway 84,169,357 77,825,533 78,604,689 89,042,209 -7.5 1.0 13.3
Switzerland 151,791,492 159,109,630 160,303,724 162,814,231 4.8 0.8 1.6
EFTA 239,662,726 241,146,611 243,225,572 256,126,296 0.6 0.9 5.3
Share in EFTA's total 100% 100% 100% 100%
 No percentage calculated
Source: World Trade Atlas2,3801,89031,67557,36882,41280,402
010,00020,00030,00040,00050,00060,00070,00080,00090,000
Iceland Norway SwitzerlandEFTA States' trade with the world
(2000 - million US dollars)
Import
ExportWT/REG86/R/B/2
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EFTA STATES' TRADE WITH THE WORLD BY SELECTED COMMODITIES (HS)
1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000
IMPORTS In thousand US dollars In per cent
Iceland
Total imports from the world 2,284,704 2,315,759 2,380,086 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of imports from world 100% 100% 100%
     HS 84  Machinery, mechanical appliances 343,400 338,079 304,921 15.0 14.6 12.8
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 279,576 259,297 276,459 12.2 11.2 11.6
     HS 87  Vehicles (not railway) 228,117 265,046 249,848 10.0 11.4 10.5
Norway
Total imports from the world 37,451,092 33,779,975 31,674,645 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of imports from world 100% 100% 100%
     HS 84  Machinery, mechanical applicances 6,328,865 5,644,825 4,805,487 16.9 16.7 15.2
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 3,506,578 3,353,604 3,376,049 9.4 9.9 10.7
     HS 87  Vehicles (not railway) 3,535,595 3,089,991 2,956,628 9.4 9.1 9.3
     HS 27  Mineral fuels, oil 947,888 1,035,991 1,163,853 2.5 3.1 3.7
     HS 39  Plastic, plastic articles 1,085,801 1,019,696 994,492 2.9 3.0 3.1
     HS 94  Furniture and bedding 1,010,353 975,274 963,645 2.7 2.9 3.0
     HS  89 Ships, boats and floating structure 2,619,491 1,604,601 931,579 7.0 4.8 2.9
     HS 73  iron and steel products 1,914,583 1,270,865 926,097 5.1 3.8 2.9
Switzerland
Total imports from the world 80,267,624 80,008,545 82,411,758 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of imports from world 100% 100% 100%
     HS 84  Machinery, mechanical applicances 10,571,578 11,075,982 11,203,711 13.2 13.8 13.6
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 7,184,466 7,490,076 8,180,210 9.0 9.4 9.9
     HS 87  Vehicles (not railway) 6,668,542 7,032,447 6,789,513 8.3 8.8 8.2
     HS 71  Precious stones and metals 6,937,018 5,076,812 6,726,878 8.6 6.3 8.2
     HS 30  Pharmaceuticals 3,463,563 4,293,309 4,283,838 4.3 5.4 5.2
     HS 29 Organic chemicals 4,092,940 3,961,542 4,265,592 5.1 5.0 5.2
     HS 27  Mineral fuels, oil 2,365,844 2,379,581 3,760,061 2.9 3.0 4.6
     HS 39  Plastic, plastic articles 2,892,037 2,865,059 2,865,389 3.6 3.6 3.5
     HS 90  Optical, medical, surgical
                 instruments2,540,987 2,699,511 2,708,710 3.2 3.4 3.3
     HS 94  Furniture and bedding 2,025,839 2,102,726 1,960,136 2.5 2.6 2.4
EXPORTS In thousand US dollars In per cent
Iceland
Total exports to the world 1,926,744 2,001,400 1,889,770 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of exports to world: 100% 100% 100%
     HS 03  Crustaceans 1,022,550 1,066,335 953,473 53.1 53.3 50.5
     HS 76  Aluminium and articles thereof 267,540 319,073 352,473 13.9 15.9 18.7
     HS 16  Preparations of meat, fish 181,135 159,460 132,692 9.4 8.0 7.0
Norway
Total exports to the world 40,374,441 44,824,714 57,367,564 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of exports to world: 100% 100% 100%
     HS 27  Mineral fuels, oil 17,472,594 22,803,716 36,287,450 43.3 50.9 63.3
     HS 03  Fish, crustaceans 3,293,716 3,452,780 3,266,934 8.2 7.7 5.7
     HS 99  Salvage and  reparations 2,852,882 2,626,850 2,567,594 7.1 5.9 4.5
     HS 76  Aluminium and articles thereof 2,383,826 2,152,071 2,453,409 5.9 4.8 4.3
     HS 84  Machinery, mechanical appliances 2,622,145 2,548,091 2,300,745 6.5 5.7 4.0
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 1,525,444 1,457,122 1,451,713 3.8 3.3 2.5
     HS 48  Paper, paperboard 802,279 794,343 746,990 2.0 1.8 1.3
     HS 72 Iron and steel 829,051 732,428 688,860 2.1 1.6 1.2WT/REG86/R/B/2
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1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000
Switzerland
Total exports to the world 78,842,006 80,295,179 80,402,743 100.0 100.0 100.0
In per cent of exports to world: 100% 100% 100%
     HS 84  Machinery, mechanical appliances 15,525,047 15,220,247 15,217,874 19.7 19.0 18.9
     HS 30  Pharmaceutical products 8,034,124 9,036,844 8,257,533 10.2 11.3 10.3
     HS 85  Electrical machinery 7,437,217 7,388,342 7,778,432 9.4 9.2 9.7
     HS 29  Organic chemicals 7,022,523 7,079,625 7,026,746 8.9 8.8 8.7
     HS 91  Clocks and watches 5,810,028 5,976,159 6,073,494 7.4 7.4 7.6
     HS 71  Precious stones and metals 4,400,966 5,111,609 6,061,537 5.6 6.4 7.5
     HS 90  Optical, medical, surgical
                 instruments4,500,309 4,704,777 4,860,803 5.7 5.9 6.0
     HS 39  Plastic, plastic articles 2,772,396 2,752,348 2,628,327 3.5 3.4 3.3
     HS 32  Tanning, dye, paints, putty, inks 1,876,173 1,809,686 1,792,976 2.4 2.3 2.2
     HS 73  Iron and steel products 1,821,551 1,748,717 1,706,374 2.3 2.2 2.1
Source:  World Trade Atlas
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