Updated free trade deal between Switzerland and China set for 2025
New free trade agreement with China by 2025, according to Aeschi
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Updated free trade deal between Switzerland and China set for 2025
The enhanced free trade agreement between Switzerland and China is set to enter into force in 2025. This is the assumption of parliamentarian Thomas Aeschi, president of the EU-EFTA delegation. He will be in China with Swiss parliamentarians until Saturday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Neues Freihandelsabkommen mit China laut Aeschi noch 2025
Original
Bern wants to revise the modalities of the agreement, in particular the export of its products, which is still heavily taxed. A new agreement should be reached within the next 12 months, Aeschi told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA on Thursday.
Switzerland and China officially launched the resumption of negotiations on the free trade agreement signed in 2014 in September. In particular, Switzerland wants to review the tariff concessions for the products it exports. For example, millions in customs duties are still being paid on Swiss watches that are shipped to China.
China, for its part, wants Swiss investment to continue and more Swiss companies to set up in China, said Aeschi. The delegation’s trip was a preparation for concrete negotiations between the two parties, who have so far only met virtually.
This made the meeting with Deputy Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen all the more important. With a trade volume of CHF33 billion ($37.5 billion), China is Switzerland’s third most important trading partner.
The Swiss parliamentarians’ programme in Beijing also includes a courtesy visit to the Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress, Xiao Jie.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
November 24, 2024 votes: the results from across Switzerland
Should raw milk sales be banned or should consumers decide?
Swiss food regulations do not allow raw milk to be sold for direct consumption. However, a loophole allows 400 raw milk vending machines to do just that.
This content was published on
The Swiss economy is growing slightly faster than expected, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
This content was published on
The House of Representatives on Wednesday cut the foreign aid budget by CHF250 million ($282 million) in favour of the army.
Parliament confirms 13th pension payment to be paid once a year in December
This content was published on
The 13th old-age pension payment will be paid out as planned from December 2026, the Swiss Senate confirmed on Wednesday.
This content was published on
Around 1,000 Swiss farmers took part in a protest action near Bern on Tuesday, calling for less administrative work, more planning security and fairer prices.
UN appeals for more funds to assist 305 million people in need
This content was published on
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that around 305 million people will need aid in 2025.
Swiss authorities release right-to-die activist in Sarco ‘suicide capsule’ case
This content was published on
A right-to-die activist has been released from police custody over the reported first use of the Sarco “suicide capsule”, after prosecutors ruled out the possibility of an intentional homicide.
Switzerland demands immediate halt to hostilities in Syria
This content was published on
The Swiss foreign ministry has called for an immediate end to hostilities in Syria. International humanitarian law must be respected, it declared via the social media platform X on Tuesday.
Poll: right-wing Swiss People’s Party enjoys growing support among population
This content was published on
If national elections had been held in Switzerland last month, the right-wing Swiss People's Party would have won, and increased its share of votes by 2% compared to the 2023 federal elections.
This content was published on
Swiss Black Friday revenues failed to live up to retail expectations. But sales throughout the week proved more successful.
This content was published on
The Swiss army will have CH 530 million more than expected for armaments investments after a parliamentary chamber approved the increase.
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.