Switzerland will “modernize” agricultural trade with Israel

The Federal Council has enacted the amendments to the ordinance on the purchase and sale of agricultural products with Tel Aviv resulting from the 1992 EFTA agreement

Switzerland and Israel have decided to update the package of agricultural measures that are part of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EFTA states and Israel.
With this in mind, on April 21, 2021, the Federal Council enacted amendments to the relevant ordinance to implement the tariff concessions included in the update.
The amendments will strengthen relations between Switzerland and Israel in agricultural trade.

It was one of Bern’s first trade agreements

Signed by EFTA and Israel in 1992, this FTA is one of Switzerland’s first trade agreements.
Its updating will significantly improve access to the Israeli market for Swiss exporters and avoid discrimination resulting from the preferential agreements Israel has concluded in recent years with countries competing with the Swiss Confederation.
In this way Israel not only updates its concessions on processed agricultural products but, for the first time, extends those granted to Switzerland to unprocessed agricultural products as well.

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New concessions for live animals and meat

It also ushers in new concessions covering live animals, meat, offal and meat preparations, dairy products (e.g., cheese), fruit juices, tobacco, pasta, and certain vegetable, fruit, and nut preparations.
In addition to concessions similar to those in more recent versions of the FTA, such as cut flowers, vegetables, fruits, spices, canned fruit and vegetable preparations, Israel also obtains new concessions from Switzerland for processed agricultural products such as coffee, tea, jams, ready-to-eat tomatoes, pasta, butter and cocoa powder.

The most sensitive products will remain protected

These concessions are compatible with Swiss agricultural policy objectives and do not affect border protection for sensitive agricultural products.
This update covers the Agricultural Agreement concluded between Switzerland and Israel as well as Protocol A to the FTA on processed agricultural products, both of which were signed in November 2018 by the EFTA member states and approved by the Federal Assembly in June 2020.
The new concessions will enter into force on the first day of the third month following the deposit of the relevant instruments of ratification by Israel and all EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).

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