Switzerland's Trade Policy: End of the FTA Road, Switch to the BTB Lane?

Stefan Legge () and Piotr Lukaszuk

No 1809, Economics Working Paper Series from University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract: Not being a member of the European Union, Switzerland has developed a vast network of 30 free trade agreements (FTA) with 40 partner countries, covering more than 80 percent of Swiss foreign trade. We examine this network and document how much Switzerland and its trading partners benefit from existing FTAs. Furthermore, this study analyzes possible gains from signing additional trade agreements as well as the tariff impact of a hard Brexit. The findings reveal that overall tariff reductions are substantial in absolute terms and balanced for Swiss exports and imports. The total amount of duties paid to Swiss Customs as well as foreign customs authorities is reduced by approximately 2 billion CHF annually. We conclude with the observation that there is limited scope for further tariff reductions, suggesting that a new focus on behind-the-border (BTB) measures is recommended.

Keywords: FTA; Tariffs; Trade Policy; Switzerland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2018-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec and nep-int
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:usg:econwp:2018:09

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