WTO “ideal path” for Swiss economy according to State Secretary
Published: Wednesday, Feb 28th 2024, 15:30
Updated At: Wednesday, Feb 28th 2024, 15:30
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According to Seco Director Helen Budliger Artieda, the World Trade Organization (WTO) remains "the silver bullet" for the Swiss economy in today's world. At the ministerial meeting in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, she will fight to prevent an "erosion" of the institution, said Budliger Artieda in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency
The WTO remains important for Switzerland, a small country but one of the twenty largest markets in the world. The WTO is also important for many developing countries, as they - unlike Switzerland - do not have the means to multiply bilateral free trade agreements, said the Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco).
The WTO has recently been at the center of global trade policy disputes. According to the Confederation, an escalation of trade protection measures and countermeasures has led to negative effects on global economic development. The WTO agreements should therefore be developed further.
In Abu Dhabi, Switzerland's goal remains to "prevent the organization from eroding" by advocating a functioning dispute settlement mechanism with the possibility of appeal by the end of the year and helping to adapt the WTO to the realities of the 21st century. Switzerland made this commitment almost two years ago at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva.
Switzerland would lose credibility if it did not fulfill this obligation. During initial negotiations in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, most states had signaled that they wanted to retain the dispute settlement mechanism. "That is a good starting point," said the State Secretary.
Agreements are in limbo
The extension of the moratorium on the taxation of electronic services, which is important for Switzerland, by two years is also an issue at the WTO Ministerial Conference. In the event of failure, "this would clearly be an erosion" of the WTO, Budliger Artieda told Keystone-SDA. Switzerland also wants the institution to take up new issues such as climate change.
The Seco Director also met representatives of the Indian government in Abu Dhabi, but no date was announced for the signing of a free trade agreement with New Delhi. "We still hope that this will happen before the elections in India," said Budliger Artieda. The date for the conclusion of the Initiative on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), in which Switzerland is participating together with Costa Rica, Fiji, Iceland, New Zealand and Norway, is also open.
The conclusion of an agreement with the South American economic bloc Mercosur is also not foreseeable, it was reported on Wednesday. Switzerland reached an agreement with Mercosur in August 2019 on behalf of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). However, the agreement faced environmental criticism and concerns from farmers. Formal confirmation of the agreement was then blocked when Jair Bolsonaro took office as President of Mercosur member Brazil.
The negotiations would be resumed after March and before July of the current year, Budliger Artieda announced on Wednesday. When asked about the demonstrations by farmers and increasing social tensions in countries around the world, the State Secretary said: "We were a little naive when we thought that everyone would benefit from globalization. Farmers in Switzerland are also concerned." However, Switzerland's agricultural policy would not be jeopardized by such an agreement.
©Keystone/SDA
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