ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

European Free Trade Association

The European Free Trade Association, or EFTA for short, is a group of countries in Europe that work together to make trading between themselves easier. There are four countries in EFTA: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. These countries are not part of the European Union, which is a different group of countries that also work together to make trading easier, but they still want to be able to trade with each other without restrictions.

So, they formed their own group and created some rules that they all agree to follow. For example, they all agree not to charge each other extra taxes or fees when they trade with each other. This means that it is cheaper for companies in these countries to buy and sell things with each other because they don't have to pay extra fees.

The countries in EFTA also try to work together to create rules that make it easier for their businesses to work in each other's countries. For example, if a Norwegian company wants to start selling their products in Switzerland, it might be hard for them to understand all the different rules and regulations that Switzerland has for businesses. But because Norway and Switzerland are both in EFTA, they have agreed to have similar rules, which means it is easier for Norwegian businesses to start working in Switzerland.

Overall, EFTA is like a club for countries that want to make trading with each other easier by creating rules they all agree to follow.