Swiss Trade Barriers Costing Millions: EU Agreement Coming
Swiss Trade Barriers Costing Millions: EU Agreement Coming
Mo, Mai 20th 2024
The Switzerland-EU agreement streamlines product export and import, preventing multimillion-franc costs for Swiss businesses. Ongoing negotiations aim to update this vital agreement.
Keystone/MARTIAL TREZZINI
In order to simplify the export and import of products, there is a corresponding agreement between Switzerland and the EU. This regulates the approval of 20 product sectors for the entire internal market. Without this agreement, Swiss export companies would incur costs in the millions. This has been demonstrated by the example of the medtech sector for three years.
The Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) covers over two thirds of all Swiss industrial products exported to the EU, according to Federal Council documents. This corresponded to a trade volume of over 175 billion Swiss francs in 2022.
The MRA is now to be updated as part of the ongoing negotiations between the Federal Council and the EU Commission for a broad package agreement. Among other things, the MRA is to be subject to institutional elements such as the dynamic adoption of law and the dispute settlement procedure.
Medical Devices No Longer Current Since 2021
Regulations for products are constantly evolving, the MRA needs to be updated regularly. However, the Federal Council states that the EU is currently refusing to update it because the institutional issues have not been clarified. As a result, the medical devices chapter has been out of date since May 2021.
At the same time, the Federal Council enacted the national medical device ordinance with import hurdles for foreign manufacturers, said a spokeswoman for Swiss Medtech, the Swiss medical technology association, when asked. These reciprocal hurdles lead to additional administrative costs for the approval of products in the EU internal market.
Swiss Medtech puts the additional costs at a total of CHF 300 million per year. It is not possible to quantify any investments that would not be made in Switzerland due to the trade barriers.
Possible Further Product Groups Affected
Due to further legal developments in the EU, other product groups could also face the same fate. The business association Economiesuisse fears that machines or construction products manufactured in Switzerland will lose their recognition for the EU market in a few years, as François Baur, Head of European Affairs at Economiesuisse, said on request.
The Federal Council would like to update the MRA as quickly as possible. In its negotiating mandate, it states that Switzerland will endeavor to agree an update during the negotiations.
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