Swiss lower house of parliament signs off Mercosur trade deal

Switzerland’s lower house of parliament on Wednesday approved a trade agreement with ​the South American bloc Mercosur days ‌after the upper house had given its backing to the corresponding bill, which also ​contains financial support for Swiss farmers.

The ​lower house initially rejected the Mercosur deal ⁠in June, but approved it after ​lawmakers included financial aid for farmers ​worth 517 million Swiss francs ($631 million) over six years to cushion the effects of the agreement.

Farming ​is a sensitive policy area in ​Switzerland and the trade accord is likely to be ‌put ⁠to a referendum under the country’s system of direct democracy.

The deal between member states of the European Free Trade ​Association, or ​EFTA, and ⁠the core Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay ​passed the lower house with ​118 ⁠votes in favour and 66 against. There were 10 abstentions.

Switzerland is the biggest economy ⁠in ​EFTA, which also includes ​Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Source: Reuters

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