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Vietnam signs free trade deal with four European nations outside the EU

The pact with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland cuts duties on industrial, fish and farm goods after more than a decade of talks.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 18 Oct 2026, 13:50

Vietnam's General Secretary and President To Lam in Hanoi in June 2024. File photo: en.kremlin.ru / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 en.kremlin.ru / Wikimedia Commons

Vietnam signed a free trade agreement with four European countries outside the European Union on Sunday, pressing ahead with a push to diversify its markets as US tariffs weigh on its exports.

The deal was signed in Hanoi in the presence of Vietnam's top leader, To Lam, with the European Free Trade Association, whose members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, according to the state news agency BSS, quoting AFP.

The agreement eliminates or reduces customs duties, including on industrial, fish and agricultural products. Vietnam's government said it also covers trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, small and medium-sized enterprises, dispute settlement and sustainable development.

The talks began in 2012, stalled in 2018 and were relaunched in September 2025. Negotiators concluded the deal in July.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and the EFTA states was worth 4.8 billion euros ($5.4 billion) last year. Machinery, fish and pharmaceutical products were the bloc's main exports to Vietnam, while machinery, footwear and apparel were among Vietnam's main exports to the four countries.

The timing reflects growing pressure from Washington. President Donald Trump's tariff campaign has left Vietnam with a hefty tax on its exports to the United States while the two sides continue negotiations. A history and politics scholar, Do Dinh Lam Khang, told AFP the pact was part of a joint effort to build alternative commercial relationships rather than rely only on the largest partners.

For Bangladesh, the deal is a reminder that competitors are locking in preferential access to European markets. Bangladesh's apparel exports to the EU, its biggest market, fell 11.7 percent in January-August, according to Eurostat data reported earlier. The EFTA grouping is separate from the European Union.

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NEXT STORY Politics

BNP to interview aspirants on 19 October for vacant women's seat

The party will hear women who bought nomination papers for the by-election to a vacant women's seat on 19 October at its Gulshan chairman's office. The Election Commission has set voting for 12 November.

ScrollBeat Desk18 Oct 2026, 14:32Open this article

A file photo used by Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha for coverage of the BNP's nomination process for a vacant women's reserved seat in the Jatiya Sangsad. Photo: BSS BSS

The BNP will interview women seeking its nomination for the by-election to a vacant women's reserved seat in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad on 19 October, the party said in a press release signed by assistant office secretary Munir Hossain.

The interviews will be held at 7:00pm at the party chairman's political office in Gulshan, and will be attended by women who bought and submitted nomination papers, the release said.

The by-election is for a seat reserved for women that fell vacant after Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti resigned as an MP on 1 October. She had been accused of involvement in an attack, looting and vandalism at the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Dhaka's Mirpur, and resigned on the instructions of BNP chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Under the Election Commission schedule announced on 12 October and signed by EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, nomination papers must be submitted to the returning officer at the Nirbachan Bhaban by 26 October. Scrutiny will be held on 27 October, the last date for withdrawal of candidacies is 1 November, and voting will take place on 12 November.

Only the BNP can nominate a candidate for the vacant seat, because reserved seats are allocated in proportion to the directly elected MPs a party has. If more than one candidate is nominated, only MPs of the BNP alliance are eligible to vote. In practice, reserved seats are usually filled by a single candidate, so a vote is often unnecessary.

NEXT STORY Bangladesh

Coast Guard seizes 8.3m metres of nets in hilsa ban crackdown

The force has stepped up river and coastal patrols in 54 upazilas during the 22-day ban on catching, selling and transporting hilsa, which runs until 29 October.

ScrollBeat Desk18 Oct 2026, 14:30Open this article

Bangladesh Coast Guard personnel patrol rivers and coastal waters to enforce the 22-day ban on hilsa fishing that runs from 8 to 29 October 2026. Photo: BSS BSS

The Bangladesh Coast Guard has stepped up patrols and drives in rivers and coastal waters to stop the catching of brood hilsa during a 22-day nationwide ban meant to let the national fish spawn safely.

The ban began on 8 October and lasts until 29 October. It bars catching, transporting, storing, marketing, buying and selling hilsa anywhere in the country.

Officials said conservation operations have been intensified in 54 upazilas across 16 districts, with stations and outposts under the Coast Guard's four zones running regular patrols. Chandpur, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Munshiganj, Barishal, Patuakhali, Bhola, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Bagerhat, the Chattogram outer anchorage and parts of Lakshmipur are among the areas getting particular attention.

The Coast Guard said it had seized 8.3 million metres (83,30,900 metres) of fishing nets, 155 kilogrammes of hilsa and 14 boats, and that 24 people had been brought under the law. The nets were destroyed in the presence of fisheries representatives, the confiscated hilsa was given to local orphanages, and the boats were handed to fisheries officials.

Patrol vessels are also on alert to keep fishing trawlers from neighbouring countries out of Bangladesh's territorial waters, the force said. Officials said working in remote rivers at night and stopping the use of banned nets remain the biggest challenges, and that patrols, intelligence gathering and coordination with other agencies have been strengthened.

Under a government programme, rice is being given to 646,290 fishing families in 168 upazilas across 38 districts, with each family receiving 25 kilogrammes for the duration of the ban.

Fisherman Burhan Uddin of Char Fasson in Bhola told the state news agency BSS that the restriction would help hilsa breed and grow, and welcomed the food aid for families losing income. Professor Mohammad Mamun Chowdhury, chairman of Dhaka University's fisheries department, called the ban effective but said it should run for a month rather than 22 days, because egg-bearing hilsa are still netted soon after it ends.

Enforcement has been uneven. The Daily Star reported on 12 October that illegal hilsa fishing and open sales continued along the Meghna in Barishal's Hizla and Mehendiganj upazilas, with 2,000 to 3,000 maunds traded daily in about 30 markets, and that the district fisheries office had asked for army or Coast Guard help. Officials there cited a lack of budget and the danger of night operations on the river.

Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon said surveillance and drives had been strengthened to ensure safe spawning, and urged the public to report violations on the emergency number 16111.