Former US Vice President Mike Pence was a speaker at the Swiss Economic Forum, held in the Swiss mountain resort of Interlaken this week.
Keystone / Peter Klaunzer
Former US Vice President Mike Pence has spoken in favour of a free-trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Switzerland. The idea of reviving FTA talks has been rumbling on for several years.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/sb
“If the Trump administration had been able to stay for another four years, this free-trade deal could have been concluded,” Pence told the Swiss Economic Forum in the mountain resort of Interlaken on Thursday.
“I will continue to use my influence to see this agreement finalised.”
He said economic relations between Switzerland and the US were good and had improved under the presidency of Donald Trump.
Long-running saga
The idea of kickstarting negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the US has been around for several years. But efforts to revive an FTA, following the collapse of a previous attempt in 2006, have so far made very slow progress.
Former Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann first mooted the idea of reviving FTA talks in 2018. But initial efforts yielded little joy.
“The new administration around Joe Biden will certainly have to deal with other problems first,” he said. “Had Donald Trump been given a second term as US president, Switzerland might have had a slightly better chance for a free-trade agreement,” he said.
The US is Switzerland’s second-biggest trading partner after the European Union.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
This content was published on
Edward McMullen, the United States ambassador to Switzerland, has said farewell to the country, SonntagsBlick has reported.
Free trade deals save Switzerland billions, study finds
This content was published on
Swiss consumers and importers saved billions of francs in 2018 thanks to lower customs duties as part of free trade deals.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.