Unrealistic FTA Swiss Ambassador to the U.S. Jacques Pitteloud encouraged a Washington audience this week to pursue a bilateral free trade agreement with his country. He contended that Switzerland has adjusted its agricultural policies to make liberalization easier, and that even a limited deal was better than no deal at all. However, there is still WTO compliance concerns with limited trade agreements and the associated discussion about the inclusion of quota and tariff protections by a relatively small market such as Switzerland provokes low interest by some American special interest groups. The largest hurdle to such an agreement is the fact that Switzerland’s major trading partner is the EU, and if Brussels cannot consider agricu...

TAGS – Europe, North America