Trade dialogue with the United States
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) and an interagency delegation from Iceland led by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs convened in Reykjavík on June 27, 2019, for a trade dialogue.
Iceland and the United States have, over the years, made great strides in deepening economic and business ties. The United States is Iceland’s largest single trading partner, and our overall trade in 2018 topped $1 billion, with a roughly balanced exchange of goods and services.
The dialogue with the USTR is an important step for the bilateral trade relationship between Iceland and the United States and the delegations discussed a range of trade related issues with a focus on tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade and multilateral trade issues of common interest.
The delegations recognized that despite the strong bilateral relations, the benefit of even greater economic cooperation, increased trade and investment, and elimination of trade barriers, will enhance economic growth and encourage increased productivity for both countries. It was decided to continue the dialogue in accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Iceland on Trade and Investment Cooperation (TIFA) signed on January 15th 2009, in order to continue to pursue initiatives on specific trade and investment matters, with a view to concluding agreements or other arrangements that will facilitate bilateral trade and investment. The parties agreed to convene again later this year for further discussions on trade in goods and on issues such as trade in services, investment and emerging sectors.
Earlier this month the inaugural Economic Dialogue between the United States and Iceland took place in Reykjavík, on June 7, 2019, following the meeting of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with Foreign Minister Thordarson in February.