Switzerland: trade negotiations on hold

Negotiations on the free trade agreement between Switzerland and China are not progressing due to disagreements on human rights issues, according to media reports. The last meeting took place in 2018. Since then, there have only been “informal contacts,” as the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) confirmed to the NZZ. Switzerland would actually be interested in expanding the free trade agreement concluded in 2014, especially on industrial products. “So far it has not been possible to agree on a common list of topics that should be explored in greater depth,” Seco wrote.