The finalization of FTA negotiations between Vietnam and EFTA has opened up new opportunities for the seafood sector against a backdrop of volatile global trade and markets day by day tightening standards. Alongside advantages from tariff cuts, the EU's restrictions on wild-catch fisheries also generate conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to expand exports to EFTA countries…

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam's seafood exports to the EFTA block (European Free Trade Association) currently remain modest, but this is evaluated as a market possessing plenty of growth room thanks to high purchasing power and stable demand against quality products.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an intergovernmental organization encompassing 4 member states: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

On July 2, 2026, Vietnam and EFTA officially issued a Joint Statement on concluding the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between both sides.

In 2025, Vietnamese seafood exports to Switzerland reached 34.123 million USD, up 15%, and exports to Norway reached 18.479 million USD, up 95% compared to 2024. Although the total turnover of both markets reached around 52.6 million USD, occupying a small proportion within total seafood exports, it demonstrates the potential to expand at high-value market segments.

TARIFFS DECREASE, GENERATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

In the first 5 months of 2026, exports to Switzerland reached 13.437 million USD, down 15% compared to the previous year's same period and occupying around 0.3% of Vietnam's total seafood export turnover. June 2026 alone reached 3.5 million USD, down 13.5%. Meanwhile, exports to Norway reached 7.027 million USD, up 36.7%; May alone reached 1.643 million USD, up 11.5%. This demonstrates that although EFTA is not yet a large market regarding scale, positive signals still appear, particularly in Norway.

“EFTA countries possess diverse demands against multiple items such as salmon, cod, mackerel, pangasius, shrimp... Notably, Switzerland can only self-satisfy around 12% of domestic seafood demand; the remaining portion relies on imports. Besides, the fact that the EU continues to restrict seafood exploitation and catching also opens up additional opportunities for Vietnam to increase exports into this region” - Ms. Kim Thu, Market Analysis Expert of VASEP.

One of the crucial benefits of EFTA is helping enterprises diversify export markets. Although the population scale is not large, countries within the block all possess high development levels, good purchasing power, and stable demands against quality food.

This serves as an opportunity for the seafood sector to reduce dependence on traditional markets against a backdrop where the United States still implicitly contains multiple risks regarding tariffs, trade remedies, and the MMPA (Marine Mammal Protection Act), while the EU continues to tighten requirements regarding IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing), traceability, residues, and sustainable development.

However, EFTA is not a market that can be conquered by price competition. Opportunities concentrate on products possessing high added value and high standards such as processed shrimp, high-quality frozen shrimp, pangasius fillets, processed pangasius, tuna, squid - octopus, crabs, mollusks, and convenient products serving retail.

Another crucial benefit is tariff preferences when the Vietnam - EFTA Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is signed, ratified, and enters into force. Cutting or eliminating tariffs will help Vietnamese seafood goods possessing appropriate origin approach the market more favorably. However, tariff preferences only truly promote efficiency when enterprises satisfy fully rules of origin, certification dossiers, food safety requirements, and technical standards.

According to reference orientations from market commitments within the EVFTA, around 50% of tariff lines against seafood (except for canned tuna and fish balls) will be eliminated immediately; the remaining portion is cut under a 3-to-7-year roadmap.

Particularly, canned tuna and fish balls will be applied a 0% tax rate right within the initial year against cargo volumes within quotas. Multiple items such as lobsters, oysters, squid, and abalone, which are currently bearing a 16-22% tariff level, will also be brought to 0% right within the initial year. The sector's average tariff will decrease rapidly from 11.4% down to merely 5.3% in the initial year, 2.3% after three years, and to 0% at the end of the seven-year roadmap. Against catfish, the tariff decreases from 6.8% to 0% after the third year. The sharp reduction of tariffs will generate additional advantages for Vietnamese seafood products to expand their presence in the EFTA market.

SETTING OUT MULTIPLE CHALLENGES

Not only bringing export opportunities, VASEP argued that the agreement also opens up two-way cooperation possibilities. Norway and Iceland are nations possessing strengths in marine farming, exploitation, resource management, cold technology, deep processing, and logistics. Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises can expand cooperation regarding technology, investment, raw materials, supply chain governance, and developing new products. High-quality raw material sources from EFTA can also support domestic processing enterprises to develop products serving the domestic market, modern retail systems, HORECA, or re-export.

Alongside opportunities, enterprises also have to face a number of challenges.

First: Very high requirements regarding quality standards. The three countries Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein belong to the European Economic Area, thus applying standard systems tied with the EU, while Switzerland also possesses strict requirements regarding food safety, traceability, environment, labor, and social responsibility.

Wishing to efficiently exploit this market, enterprises need to prepare synchronously from farming zones, fishing vessels, raw material sources, processing factories, cold chains, packaging, and labels to sustainability certifications.

Second: Rules of origin. Multiple Vietnamese seafood products utilize imported raw materials or undergo multiple processing stages, therefore enterprises need to research carefully commitment schedules, HS codes, cumulation mechanisms, and origin certification procedures. If failing to satisfy fully these requirements, tariff preferences will be difficult to transform into actual competitive advantages.

In the EFTA market, Vietnamese seafood does not merely compete with EU countries and Norway but also has to face competitors such as the UK, Russia, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and China.

Third: When import tariffs decrease, seafood products from EFTA such as salmon, mackerel, cod, whitefish, and frozen products from Norway and Iceland will also possess conditions to approach the Vietnamese market more favorably. This generates additional competitive pressure at the high-end segment, restaurants - hotels, modern retail, and convenient products.

However, competitive pressure can also become a driver for Vietnamese enterprises to invest in deep processing, elevate quality, develop brands, and standardize distribution systems. Opportunities will belong to enterprises proactively preparing regarding product quality, certifications, traceability, rules of origin, packaging, labels, as well as the capacity to work with retail systems, importers, and food services in Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland.

Source: VnEconomy