Swiss foreign minister pushes for free trade deal in Latin America

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, right, with his Bolivian counterpart Celinda Sosa. Keystone-SDA

During a five-day trip to Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay this week, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis tried to push forward negotiations on a free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

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Ideally, the agreement should be finalised before the end of this six-month period, before being signed in the second half of the year, foreign ministry spokesman Nicolas Bideau told the Keyston-SDA news agency after the trip.

The negotiations between EFTA countries – Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – and Mercosur, the free trade area encompassing Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, have been dragging on for years. Making progress was therefore the main focus of the trip, the foreign ministry wrote on Saturday. Switzerland would benefit from savings of up to CHF180 million ($198 million) as a result of the agreement, which would exempt exports from high customs duties.

The talks took place at a time when such agreements with countries in Latin America are in high demand. Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has been exerting pressure to pre-empt China in this regard.

Swiss fan Milei

Argentina’s President Javier Milei said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in January that he was prepared to leave Mercosur if this proved necessary to conclude a free trade agreement with the US. However, many Argentinian firms are closely networked with the Brazilian economy in particular.

After his appearance at WEF, Milei also met with Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, who currently holds the rotating Swiss presidency. She advised him to finalise negotiations soon, Keller-Sutter told journalists after the meeting.

Milei assured her that the work was progressing well. He also told her he had “great sympathy for Switzerland”.

Translated from German by DeepL/dos

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