Swiss-China trade talks stall over human rights issue

A free trade agreement signed between the two countries in 2013 is at risk of being annexed as Switzerland criticises China’s human rights record.

Efforts by Switzerland to renew its free trade deal with China hang in the balance as Swiss rule makers take a critical view of Beijing’s human rights record.

Established in 2013, the deal, which aimed to increase trade between the two countries, was the first of its kind between China and a continental European country.

Now, Switzerland wants to extend the tariff deal to apply to more Swiss products, says Reuters, but China appears to be stonewalling.

The stony silence comes as Switzerland has become increasingly vocal about China’s human rights record, with its parliament referring to the rumoured forced labour of Uyghur people in northwest China as “a real problem”.

Beijing claims that the s0-called labour camps are in fact training facilities to combat religious extremism, but reports of unlawful detainment and torture from these establishments persist.

One Swiss industry leader has suggested that in order to get the trade deal extension over the line, Switzerland should keep it buttoned and pursue a policy of “quiet diplomacy” over China’s human rights record.

“If we, as a small economy, constantly point the finger of rebuke at China, nothing will change, except that relations will eventually break down,” Jean-Philippe Kohl, head of economic policy at industry association Swissmem told told the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.

The initial deal took more than two years of negotiation, during which time Swiss exports to China grew by 49% (between 2010 and 2013). Following the signing on the dotted line, export growth slowed to 3.1% annual growth (2014-2019).

Switzerland was keen to gain access to the Chinese market, while China saw Switzerland as a gateway into Europe and viewed the trade agreement as an important ‘test case’ that might soften the EU’s reluctance to negotiate with China.

The Swiss tariff reductions cover goods including watches, magnets, water heaters, vacuum cleaners, bicycles and electric motors, but also agricultural and agri-business sectors, encompassing products such as milk and cheese, fruits, cereals, some animal products and certain types of wine.