As part of its Uruguay Round commitments, Switzerland enacted legislation in 1996 providing for nondiscrimination and national treatment in public procurement at the federal level. A separate law makes less extensive guarantees at the cantonal and community levels. As a net international creditor, debt management policies are not relevant to Switzerland. Aid Switzerland receives no aid. Import licenses for many agricultural products are subject to tariff-rate quotas and tied to an obligation for importers to take a certain percentage of domestic production.
Tariffs remain quite high for most agricultural products that are also produced in Switzerland.
The Swiss services sector features no significant barriers to U.S. exports. Foreign insurers wishing to do business in Switzerland are required to establish a subsidiary or a branch here. Foreign insurers may offer only those types of insurance for which they are licensed in their home countries. Until recently, the most serious barriers to U.S. exports existed in the area of telecommunications. However, with the privatization and liberalization which became effective in this sector in 1998, this market has been greatly opened to foreign competitors.