WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG94/R/B/3 
G/L/690 
17 September 2004 
 
 (04-3910) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Original:   English 
   
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND SWITZERLAND 
 
Biennial Report on the Operation of the Agreement 
 
 
Communication from the Parties 
  
 The report below presents the information received from the Permanent Mission of Switzerland and the Delegation for the European Communities, dated 1 September 2004.  It is 
organized in accordance to the Standard Format  for Information on Regional Trade Agreements 
(WT/REG/W/6).  
_______________ 
 
  This report covers the period 2001-2003.  Th e previous biennial report submitted by the 
parties on the operation of the trade agreements be tween the EC and Switzerland was circulated as 
WTO document WT/REG94/R/B/2, G/L/541 of 13 Ma y 2002. The general situation remains as 
described in the last regular report.  
  
I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AGREEMENT 
1. Membership And Dates Of Signature, Ratification And Entry Into Force 
 No alterations in the membership were made  during the period of 2001-2003. From 1 May 
2004, the EC-Switzerland agreement was automatically  extended to the ten new member States of the 
EU. Conversely, the existing free trade agreemen ts between the EFTA (including Switzerland) and 
the acceding countries were cancelled (Czech Republic , Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, 
Slovak Republic and Slovenia). 
 
4. Trade Data 
 
 Total bilateral trade between the EU-15 and Switzerland in the year 2002 as well as in the preceding years amounted to approx. € 120 billion. Fu rther statistical information is provided in the 
annex.  
 
 
II. TRADE PROVISIONS 
8. Sector-specific Provisions 
  On 1 June 2002, seven bilateral agreements  between the EC and Switzerland entered into 
force. These new agreements entail some changes,  as well as some reciprocal concessions, to the 
previous commitments in the area trade in agricu ltural products, technical barriers to trade, public 
procurement, free movement of persons, air transpor t, transport by road and rail, and research, the 
first three being relevant in the context of this report.   WT/REG94/R/B/3 
G/L/690 Page 2 
 
  The agreement on agriculture provides for comp lete reciprocal liberalization of trade in 
cheese, after a five year transition period. It also  contains duty free access, generally under tariff 
quota, for a range of horticultural a nd meat products, and for cut flower s. In addition, market access 
for dairy products, fruits and vege tables will be improved. Furthermore, mutual protection on labeling 
of wines and spirits on the basis of geographical origin will be granted. 
  The agreement on technical barriers to trade establishes mutual recognition of results of conformity assessment (testing, inspection, certification)  and of authorizations in certain product areas 
evidence of conformity with standard s and technical regulations through, inter alia , testing and 
certification for a list of originating products (e .g. machines, medical devices such as prostheses, 
inspections of Good Manufacturing Practice and batc h certification in the field of pharmaceuticals, 
etc.)   The agreement on certain aspects of public proc urement between Switzerland and the EU is 
based on the Uruguay Round Agreemen t on Government Procurement. It opens the Swiss and EU 
markets on a reciprocal basis to procurement, above specified thresholds, by all municipal 
administrations, inter alia , to the railway and telecommunications sectors, including companies that 
operate on the basis of a special or exclusive law.    Following the signature of the first set of bila teral agreements, negotiati ons were taken up in a 
number of additional areas: liberalization of trade in processed agricultural products; improved 
cooperation against fraud; direct ta xation of savings; participation in  various EC schemes on statistics, 
environment, border control, and asylum. Politi cal agreement on these areas was reached in May 
2004. Pending ratification, the second se t of bilateral agreemen ts is expected to co me into force in the 
course of 2005.  
 
 Also, as a consequence of EU enlargement, the EU and Switzerland agreed in May 2004 to 
adapt, where necessary, existing agre ements so as to take into account the impact of the enlargement. 
This process of adaptation is presently on-going.   
EU15-Switzerland Imports/Exports, 1999-2002  
EU trade 1999 - 2002 with Switzerland >='95 (million Euro)  
imports exports balance total trade
1999 2000 2001 2002 1999 2000 2001 2002 1999 2000 2001 2002 1999 2000 2001 2002
1011 Extra-EU1522-Jul-04
48,639 55,046 55,934 54,563 55,141 64,006 68,320 65,081 6,503 8,960 12,386 10,518 103,780 119,052 124,254 119,643
of which:
01 Animals & animal products 294 294 311 315 497 540 555 556 203 246 244 241 792 833 866 871
02 Vegetable products 87 82 95 104 894 946 1,008 1,129 807 864 913 1,025 981 1,029 1,103 1,233
03 Animal or vegetable fats 8877 4 2 5 4 6 7 7 7 3 4 4 6 6 0 6 9 5 0 6 2 7 4 8 4
04 Prepared foodstuffs 744 790 838 845 1,721 1,750 1,910 2,020 976 960 1,072 1,174 2,465 2,539 2,748 2,865
05 Mineral products 468 546 1,638 1,655 2,377 3,557 3,504 3,209 1,908 3,011 1,865 1,554 2,845 4,103 5,142 4,864
06 Chemical products 10,256 11,029 12,448 13,965 7,589 8,407 9,591 10,360 -2,667 -2,621 -2,857 -3,605 17,845 19,436 22,039 24,325
07 Plastics & rubber 2,076 2,254 2,317 2,365 2,773 3,118 3,182 3,113 697 864 865 748 4,848 5,372 5,500 5,478
08 Hides & skins 125 173 221 216 401 528 647 554 276 355 426 337 525 701 868 770
09 Wood & wood products 405 520 484 419 725 767 754 751 321 247 270 332 1,130 1,288 1,239 1,170
10 Wood pulp products 1,587 1,776 1,819 1,768 2,538 2,828 2,830 2,811 950 1,053 1,010 1,043 4,125 4,604 4,649 4,579
11 Textiles & textile articles 1,492 1,589 1,580 1,462 3,165 3,246 3,445 3,384 1,673 1,658 1,865 1,923 4,658 4,835 5,025 4,846
12 Footwear, headgear 68 134 122 134 540 617 720 653 472 483 598 519 609 751 842 786
13 Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos 324 354 363 353 980 1,029 1,099 1,076 657 675 736 724 1,304 1,383 1,462 1,429
14 Pearls, (semi-)precious stones, metals 6,269 7,733 5,465 4,499 2,276 3,682 4,586 2,801 -3,993 -4,050 -878 -1,698 8,545 11,415 10,051 7,301
15 Base metals & articles thereof 3,377 3,928 3,909 3,692 3,947 4,792 4,783 4,377 570 864 874 685 7,324 8,721 8,692 8,069
16 Machinery & mechanical applicances 12,354 13,796 14,039 12,430 12,600 14,759 15,362 14,255 246 963 1,323 1,826 24,955 28,555 29,402 26,685
17 Transportation equipment 1,102 1,561 1,410 1,437 5,929 6,315 6,633 6,298 4,828 4,754 5,222 4,862 7,031 7,876 8,043 7,735
18 Instruments - measuring, musical 4,577 5,308 5,974 6,000 2,003 2,301 2,481 2,582 -2,574 -3,007 -3,493 -3,418 6,580 7,610 8,454 8,581
19 Arms & ammunition 21 26 28 49 26 25 76 49 5 0 48 0 47 51 104 98
20 Miscellaneous 859 955 938 856 2,121 2,267 2,359 2,341 1,261 1,312 1,421 1,485 2,980 3,222 3,297 3,198
21 Works of art 519 585 561 757 718 970 877 908 199 385 316 150 1,237 1,555 1,439 1,665
Other 1,625 1,607 1,366 1,235 1,277 1,504 1,852 1,777 -347 -102 486 542 2,902 3,111 3,218 3,011
Source : Eurostat COMEXT 10 September 2003 (Statistical regime 1) TRADE/F/1  José ÁlvarezTotalSwitzerland / Total
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EC-Switzerland Imports/Exports, 2002 and comparison with extra-EU
balance balance
M Euro % Total M Euro % Total M Euro M Euro % Total M Euro % Total M Euro imports exports
22-Jul-04
54,563 100.0% 65,081 100.0% 10,518 918,798 100.0% 868,524 100.0% -50,274 5.9% 7.5% 1.19
of which:
01 Animals & animal products 315 0.6% 556 0.9% 241 15,949 1.7% 11,195 1.3% -4,754 2.0% 5.0% 1.76
02 Vegetable products 104 0.2% 1,129 1.7% 1,025 26,010 2.8% 11,625 1.3% -14,385 0.4% 9.7% 10.84
03 Animal or vegetable fats 7 0.0% 77 0.1% 69 2,317 0.3% 2,339 0.3% 22 0.3% 3.3% 10.79
04 Prepared foodstuffs 845 1.5% 2,020 3.1% 1,174 23,791 2.6% 27,732 3.2% 3,941 3.6% 7.3% 2.39
05 Mineral products 1,655 3.0% 3,209 4.9% 1,554 147,537 16.1% 29,272 3.4% -118,266 1.1% 11.0% 1.94
06 Chemical products 13,965 25.6% 10,360 15.9% -3,605 67,920 7.4% 126,606 14.6% 58,685 20.6% 8.2% 0.74
07 Plastics & rubber 2,365 4.3% 3,113 4.8% 748 25,724 2.8% 36,740 4.2% 11,016 9.2% 8.5% 1.32
08 Hides & skins 216 0.4% 554 0.9% 337 10,253 1.1% 9,177 1.1% -1,076 2.1% 6.0% 2.56
09 Wood & wood products 419 0.8% 751 1.2% 332 13,546 1.5% 7,637 0.9% -5,908 3.1% 9.8% 1.79
10 Wood pulp products 1,768 3.2% 2,811 4.3% 1,043 15,485 1.7% 25,167 2.9% 9,682 11.4% 11.2% 1.59
11 Textiles & textile articles 1,462 2.7% 3,384 5.2% 1,923 66,360 7.2% 38,688 4.5% -27,671 2.2% 8.7% 2.32
12 Footwear, headgear 134 0.2% 653 1.0% 519 11,422 1.2% 6,862 0.8% -4,560 1.2% 9.5% 4.89
13 Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos 353 0.6% 1,076 1.7% 724 7,809 0.8% 15,368 1.8% 7,559 4.5% 7.0% 3.05
14 Pearls, (semi-)precious stones, metals 4,499 8.2% 2,801 4.3% -1,698 33,805 3.7% 26,743 3.1% -7,062 13.3% 10.5% 0.62
15 Base metals & articles thereof 3,692 6.8% 4,377 6.7% 685 49,836 5.4% 52,420 6.0% 2,584 7.4% 8.3% 1.19
16 Machinery & mechanical applicances 12,430 22.8% 14,255 21.9% 1,826 235,463 25.6% 270,216 31.1% 34,754 5.3% 5.3% 1.15
17 Transportation equipment 1,437 2.6% 6,298 9.7% 4,862 76,013 8.3% 92,269 10.6% 16,257 1.9% 6.8% 4.38
18 Instruments - measuring, musical 6,000 11.0% 2,582 4.0% -3,418 38,860 4.2% 41,363 4.8% 2,504 15.4% 6.2% 0.43
19 Arms & ammunition 49 0.1% 49 0.1% 0 955 0.1% 1,197 0.1% 242 5.1% 4.1% 1.00
20 Miscellaneous 856 1.6% 2,341 3.6% 1,485 28,770 3.1% 18,637 2.1% -10,132 3.0% 12.6% 2.73
21 Works of art 757 1.4% 908 1.4% 150 2,949 0.3% 4,098 0.5% 1,150 25.7% 22.1% 1.20
Other 1,235 2.3% 1,777 2.7% 542 18,025 2.0% 13,172 1.5% -4,853 6.8% 13.5% 1.44
Source : Eurostat COMEXT 10 September 2003 (Statistical regime 1) TRADE/F/1  José ÁlvarezSwitzerland
imports exports imports exports market shares Exp-Imp 
ratio
TotalSwitzerland / Total
1011 Extra-EUREU15 trade 2002 with Switzerland EU15 trade 2002 with Extra-EUR
 
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