Swiss parliamentary committee supports tariff talks with US

Committee president Sibel Arslan. Keystone-SDA

The Swiss government has received support for the upcoming negotiations with the United States on an economic and trade agreement. The responsible committee of the House of Representatives is clearly in favour of the mandate.

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The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives made three additions to the negotiating mandate, as committee president Sibel Arslan reported to the media after a meeting on Monday. The amended mandate was adopted by the committee with 17 votes in favour, two against and five abstentions.

Among other things, the committee added that Switzerland would not be under any obligation if the CHF200 billion ($250 billion) in investments promised to the US were not made by Swiss private companies, Arslan explained.

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On the other hand, the proposal not to make any concessions to the US, for example with regard to vehicle licences or meat imports, was rejected.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate will now deal with the mandate.

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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