Non-EU member Norway reaches post-Brexit trade deal with UK

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Non-European Union member Norway said Friday it has reached a post-Brexit trade deal with its greatest trading partner, Britain, which left the EU last year following a 2016 referendum.

The agreement includes Iceland and Liechtenstein, which also are outside the bloc and together with the Norwegians form the European Economic Area (EEA).

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg called the deal "ambitious and comprehensive.”

“When Norway is speeding up on its way out of the pandemic, then good export agreements are important,” she said.

Negotiations have been going on since 2020, and some of the differences included the import to Norway of agricultural goods such as meat and cheese, and fish exports to Britain, Norwegian media said.

Norway’s EEA membership grants it access to the EU’s vast common market and most goods are exempt from duties. However, obstacle-free trading across the North Sea ended when Britain left the bloc’s economic rules at the end of 2020.

“Although it is not as good as the EEA agreement, this is the most comprehensive free trade agreement ever,” Solberg told a press conference.

She added that at least two issues remained. “One is that (the deal) is not dynamic. That means that when rules are changed, they don’t follow everywhere. That is what is genius with the EEA agreement, that the rules are changed at the same time in all countries — the same standards apply everywhere, the same development apply.”

“The second is the veterinary rules at the border, which have not been fully cleaned up,” she said..

Norway’s exports to Britain are worth close to 200 billion kroner ($24 billion), Solberg said.

Britain said total trade with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein was worth 21.6...