Switzerland and India have reached an agreement on a free trade deal, Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin announced on X, formerly Twitter. Parmelin said the two countries achieved "solutions to the main open issues of" the deal, which the two sides have been negotiating for years. "After 16 years of negotiations, we have reached agreement on the basic principles of" a deal he said, according to an unofficial translation. "So that this can be signed as soon as possible, our teams are working hard to clarify the last outstanding details."
Both Asian countries and American businesses had hoped that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework could be a step on the road to lowering tariffs, trade experts said during a webinar on the future of IPEF, but now they're wondering if there will be any economically significant effect at all from talks about trade facilitation, green transition and supply chain resilience.
India and the U.S. should aim for "economically meaningful outcomes" from better customs and trade facilitation, supply chain linkages, trade in high-tech products and trade in critical minerals between the two countries, India's commerce minister and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a joint statement.
The European Council said Dec. 12 it "adopted a decision on the signing" of the EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement, which will provide "duty-free, quota-free EU market access" to all imports from Kenya. It also will lead to the "gradual opening of the Kenyan market to imports from the EU." The agreement will enter into force after the council signs it, and after it's approved by the European Parliament.
Asian countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and businesses that export to those countries had low expectations for IPEF, and trade experts said it will take years to see if IPEF will have any commercially meaningful outcomes.
The U.K. and South Korea last week agreed to officially update their free trade agreement, which is expected to include a new rules of origin chapter, improved customs procedures and more. The two countries will hold the first round of negotiations Jan. 22 in Seoul, and “further rounds of negotiations are to occur regularly thereafter,” the U.K. said. “We look forward to significant and rapid progress.”
The EU this week ratified its free trade deal with New Zealand (see 2307100014), setting up the agreement to take effect after New Zealand’s ratification, which the bloc is expecting in the first or second quarter of 2024. The deal is expected to cut about 140 million euros, or about $150 million, a year in duties for EU companies, the EU said, including by eliminating all tariffs on EU exports to New Zealand. The bloc specifically said EU farmers will have “much better opportunities to sell their produce,” including shipments of pork, wine and sparkling wine, chocolate, sugar confectionery and biscuits. New Zealand exports of dairy products, beef, sheep, ethanol and sweetcorn also will benefit from lower EU duties through tariff rate quotas.
A USMCA dispute settlement panel ruled in Canada’s favor in a much-awaited second decision on Canada’s dairy tariff rate quotas, according to a report released by the panel on Nov. 24.
The U.K. Department for Business and Trade Nov. 21 released its approach to negotiating a free trade agreement with South Korea, outlining the results of the government's call for input on the trade negotiations and details covering goods market access, rules of origin and customs and trade facilitation. Responding to input on trade remedies, the government said it will make sure the U.K. is able to impose trade remedies "as appropriate" along with maintaining trade remedy provisions that "support market access" in line with World Trade Organization commitments.
A joint statement by the leaders of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework countries said the trade pillar has made progress, and the White House said they will continue negotiations "to facilitate trade, advance workers’ rights through strong and enforceable labor standards, strengthen environmental protections, align our regulatory procedures, promote a fair and inclusive digital economy, deepen our technical assistance and economic cooperation, and advance inclusivity in our trade policy."