European Free Trade Association

EFTA is a regional organization established in December 1959 by the
Stockholm Convention as an alternative to the Common Market. EFTA was
designed to provide a free trade area for industrial products among member
countries. In contrast with the EC, EFTA does not have a common external
tariff and nor a common agricultural trade policy. Original EFTA members
included the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden,
and Switzerland. The UK, Denmark, and Portugal left the Association when
they joined the EC. EFTA currently has seven members: Austria, Finland,
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland -- Austria and
Sweden have applied for EC membership. Association headquarters are in
Geneva, Switzerland.