National Council discusses details of the Mercosur free trade agreement
Keystone-SDA
Switzerland is set to implement the free trade agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states and the Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The House of Representatives is ready to debate the bill. On Wednesday, it agreed to consider the bill by 162 votes to 28.
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The Greens were opposed to taking the matter further. The majority viewed the agreement as an opportunity to diversify Switzerland’s trade relations. However, the majority is calling for an amendment: they want the provisions of the EU’s Deforestation Regulation to be adopted.
A minority is calling for more funding for farmers – specifically, a commitment appropriation of CHF880 million for the years 2028 to 2035. This is far more than the CHF158 million increase in agriculture subsidies planned by the government.
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There are further minority motions, which the House discussed at length even before the debate began. The Social Democratic party and the Greens are calling for payments to the Amazon Fund and for no goods produced using forced labour to enter Switzerland.
The bill will now be debated in detail.
Translated from French by AI/jdp
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