Switzerland and China to sign upgraded trade accord in Beijing
Swiss President Parmelin meets Xi Jinping on Friday. 99.8% of Swiss exports will gain duty-free access to China, up from just over half.
Archive image · Photo: Swiss Federal Chancellery / Sina Guntern / Wikimedia Commons, Attribution (cropped and resized)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Swiss President Guy Parmelin were set to meet in Beijing on Friday to sign an upgraded trade accord, Reuters reported. The deal was announced in August. Under it, 99.8% of Swiss exports will have duty-free access to China, compared with just over half previously. The terms largely mirror what Switzerland already grants China.
According to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, the deal does not grant Chinese industrial goods new tariff benefits. Switzerland faced 39% U.S. tariffs for months until a provisional deal with the Trump administration last November cut them to 15%. Two sources said U.S. officials sought to discuss the accord with their Swiss counterparts. The Swiss government does not expect the accord to affect goods trade with the EU, the United States or other partners.
Senior Swiss trade official Roger Gschwend said: "It's China sending a signal they are opening up their markets a bit more." Jean-Philippe Kohl, vice director of industry group Swissmem, called it "a very, very good outcome." Nicola Tettamanti, owner of the firm Tecnopinz, cautioned: "we have to be careful about being caught in crossfire between the EU and China."