National Council wants to make it more difficult to import ready-made baked goods
Published: Thursday, Sep 26th 2024, 13:20
Zurück zu Live Feed
In consideration of domestic grain producers, the National Council wants to make it more difficult to import ready-made baked goods. To this end, customs tariffs are to be adjusted. On Thursday, the National Council adopted a corresponding motion by Katja Riem (SVP/BE).
It approved the motion by 110 votes to 72 with 2 abstentions. The motion goes to the Council of States. Over the past ten years, imports of semi-finished and finished products have more than doubled to 300,000 tons per year, Riem argued. At the same time, Swiss bread cereals are losing market share.
Regularly, high-quality Swiss bread grain even has to be downgraded to feed grain due to competition from cheap imported baked goods and dough pieces. The scope for tariff concessions should be fully utilized.
The Federal Council rejects the motion. In order to change the tariff preferences that Switzerland grants the EU, the free trade agreement with the EU would have to be renegotiated, said Economics Minister Guy Parmelin. Such renegotiations would not be in Switzerland's interests.
©Keystone/SDA
German 
English 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic