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

Author

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  • Legge, Stefan
  • Lukaszuk, Piotr

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Legge, Stefan & Lukaszuk, Piotr, 2018. "Switzerland's Trade Policy: End of the FTA Road, Switch to the BTB Lane?," Economics Working Paper Series 1809, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:usg:econwp:2018:09
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    File URL: http://ux-tauri.unisg.ch/RePEc/usg/econwp/EWP-1809.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Lukaszuk, Piotr & Legge, Stefan, 2019. "Which Factors Determine the Utilization of Preferential Tariff Rates?," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203639, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Alex Oktay, 2022. "Heterogeneity in the exchange rate pass-through to consumer prices: the Swiss franc appreciation of 2015," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 158(1), pages 1-20, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    FTA; Tariffs; Trade Policy; Switzerland;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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