ISDS Case Map
Switzerland
The fear of having other countries steal a march on Washington by signing their own deals may bring Congress back to the bilateral trade negotiating table.
Switzerland has moved closer to sealing a free trade agreement with India following a business delegation visit led by Economics Minister Doris Leuthard.
The Swiss government on Friday said it will negotiate a free-trade agreement on agricultural products and food with the European Union in a bid to increase competition in the sector.
The influential umbrella group of the Swiss pharmaceutical and chemical industries has demanded that the government act to remove global trade barriers. It said such demands should be made when creating free trade agreements with selected countries, preferably Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as the United States.
The biggest trade storm of late between the US and Switzerland has been the failure to establish a free trade agreement between the two countries. Negotiations broke down last year over agriculture.
India is likely to sign an agreement with Switzerland on intellectual property rights (IPRs) to improve the bilateral economic cooperation with Switzerland.
Swiss Economics Minister Doris Leuthard will not return home from her four-day visit to China totally empty-handed. Leuthard said she was satisfied with the results of the trip and the signing of a declaration aimed at establishing a free trade accord was the "highpoint".
Swiss Economic Affairs Minister Doris Leuthard and Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai pledged in Beijing to study the feasibility of a free trade deal.
The latest in a series of local networking and consulting organisations, set up by Switzerland's official export promotion agency, has been opened in Pretoria.
Switzerland is the first European country with which Japan negotiates an FTA.
