Trade
This section contains documents on Switzerland's bilateral trade policy and on the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
FTA: India fights back over its generics
India refuses to include TRIPS-plus intellectual property rules in the planned free trade agreement with the European Union. It specifically rejects the data exclusivity being sought by pharmaceutical companies in drug approval processes.That could also scuttle the negotiations with Switzerland. ...>>
Doha Round: the major absentee
The Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference is set for mid-December in Geneva. What precisely it will discuss is an open question. The Doha Round will hardly be a topic, at least officially. ...>>
Guidelines for human rights-compliant trade policy
Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, supports the call by Alliance Sud for Switzerland to carry out human rights impact assessments before concluding trade and investment agreements. He presented guidelines in that connection at the end of August in Berne. Alliance Sud News spoke with him. ...>>
FTAs: Interview with Economiesuisse
It is better to have no Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at all than treaties that do not properly safeguard the interests of Swiss companies. This is the position of Economiesuisse, the largest umbrella organization representing the Swiss economy). It views human rights and the environment as having no place in trade agreements. We spoke with its Director, Pascal Gentinetta. ...>>
Revised OECD guidelines
The OECD Council of Ministers approved the revised guidelines for multinational enterprises at the end of May - homework for Switzerland. ...>>
