Switzerland remains ‘positive’ on the WTO despite ‘worries’

Helene Budliger Artieda, Switzerland's state secretary for economic affairs. Keystone-SDA

Switzerland's secretary of state for economic affairs, says she is "worried" about the future of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Helene Budliger Artieda made the statement on the sidelines of the WTO ministerial meeting in Yaoundé, Cameroon, last week.

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“Of course we’re worried,” Helene Budliger Artieda told the Keystone-ATS news agency on Friday during the WTO meeting in Cameroon. The WTO remains the preferred route for a small country like Switzerland, even if Bern – “not naive” – is also committed to bilateral channels.

On Thursday, United States representative Jamieson Greer did not hide the fact that the US might move forward with others outside the WTO framework on certain issues. Washington also wants to tackle the most-favoured-nation principle, which stipulates that an advantage granted to one country should be granted to all the others.

The European Union also wants this principle to be discussed. Switzerland is mulling the possible effects of abandoning this fundamental principle. Like similar countries connected to the global economy, the Alpine nation is “in favour of this principle,” said the state secretary.

It is “difficult” to assess what the impact would be, but it is easy to blame this principle for all the unpleasantness, she said. The problem stems rather from the fact that “certain countries have not complied with the rules”, she added.

“Optimistic” despite everything

“Switzerland has done everything it can to mitigate the effects on the organisation [WTO]” in the face of economic fragmentation, while the usual sides are clashing at the ministerial level, she said. Despite tariffs and US attacks, more than 70% of world trade still follows WTO rules.

But like Washington and other countries, Budliger Artieda believes that “it is necessary to stop talking about WTO reforms and to do something” to achieve them. Switzerland arrived in Yaoundé “optimistic” and “positive”, she declared.

Switzerland is hopeful that an ambitious roadmap can be finalised at the end of the ministerial meeting on Sunday to achieve something concrete by 2028. But this widely shared desire clashes with the positions of the US and India. We must not be “maximalists”, said the Swiss state secretary.

All countries recognise the importance of reform for the institution, according to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. “This sense of crisis is perhaps useful”, says Budliger Artieda, who underlines Switzerland’s “credibility” and strong proposals in the discussions.

Efforts to be made in the face of an active EU

In Yaoundé, certain bilateral issues are also being closely observed. Budliger Artieda was able to have an 15-minute meeting with Greer at the gala dinner on Thursday evening. Since negotiations with Washington on tariffs are continuing, she declined to reveal the contents of their talks.

But it was “very useful” and “important”, she said. Switzerland is still assessing the threat of new US taxes brandished by Donald Trump.

The Swiss secretary of state also held short talks with European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic. A meeting between the EU and the 12 countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was scheduled for Friday. In the event of an eventual trade agreement between these various players, Bern would have to consider how to avoid any competitive disadvantage, as it did at the time of Mercosur.

“For a very long time, Switzerland was much more active than the EU,” says Budliger Artieda, despite the fact that the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) has a smaller market than the EU-27. But the situation has changed.

“We have to redouble our efforts” because we need to remain attractive, while Brussels has just concluded an agreement with Australia. But the Swiss official added that “competition like that from the EU is positive for Switzerland”, which also benefits indirectly from European activities.

Adapted from French by AI/sb

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