The Hoyvík Agreement is a

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

agreement between the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

History

The agreement was signed 31 August 2005 in the town of

Hoyvík Hoyvík is a town in the Faroe Islands. It is part of the Tórshavn Municipality, and de facto is merged as a northern suburb of Tórshavn, the Faroese capital. History Hoyvík is believed to be a very old settlement. An early source is the ' ...

in the Faroe Islands. The Faroese Løgting ratified the agreement on 2 May 2006 and the Icelandic Alþingi did the same on 3 June. On 21 August 2006, a statement was made by the annual general meeting of the

West Nordic Council The West Nordic Council ( da, Vestnordisk Råd, kl, Nunat Avannarliit Killiit Siunnersuisoqatigiiffiat, fo, Útnorðurráðið, is, Vestnorræna ráðið) is a cooperation forum of the parliaments and governments of Greenland, the Faroe Islands ...

that the possibility of extending the agreement to include

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

(thus creating a West Nordic free trade zone) should be seriously studied. It was noted at Løgting that the agreement could be extended to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the future.

Content

It is the most extensive free trade agreement that either nation has entered into. It guarantees almost complete freedom of goods, services, persons and capital. It also deals with competition and government subsidies and prohibits any kind of discrimination based on nationality except when it is specially provided for by the agreement. The agreement is unique for Iceland as it the first such agreement establishing free trade in agricultural products, a sector that usually sees a lot of protection from the Icelandic authorities. A notable exception to the free trade agreement is the special status of the fisheries industry. Pre-existing restrictions on foreign investment in the industry present in both countries will not be abolished. In addition to free trade, the agreement also provides a framework for increased cooperation between the nations regarding all the common interests of the nations. Especially mentioned fields of cooperation include: culture, education, sports, health care, transportation, communications, tourism, environmental issues, energy and resource management.

References

External links

The draft legislation for ratifying the agreement, includes the full text of the agreement in IcelandicA press release from the Faroese government about the signing of the agreement (in Faroese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyvik Agreement Free trade agreements Economy of Iceland Economy of the Faroe Islands Hoyvík Denmark–Iceland relations Treaties of Iceland Treaties of the Faroe Islands Treaties concluded in 2005 Treaties entered into force in 2006 2005 in the Faroe Islands

History

Content

See also

References

External links