An association of European countries with free trade between them, established in 1959. The original members were Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. Finland and Iceland joined later; Denmark and the UK left when they joined the European Economic Community in 1973, as did Portugal in 1986 and Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995. The only remaining members of EFTA are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Finland. EFTA is a free-trade area and not a customs union, and the free-trade provisions are restricted to goods originating in member countries. EFTA has an industrial free-trade agreement with the European Union.