Free trade agreement with Switzerland makes progress

Trade network adds impetus JOY ORLEK NEGOTIATIONS FOR a Free Trade Agreement between Switzerland and the SA Customs Union are on track. That’s according to Markus Leitner, head of the economic and trade section at the Embassy of Switzerland, who is confident that the agreement will be in place by the end of the year. It’s part of a concerted drive to diversify southern Africa’s export trade, 90% of which currently comprises precious metals - mainly platinum - and agricultural products. Adding impetus to this drive, the embassy on Monday launched an initiative designed to provide an information network of business opportunities between the two regions. Trade and Investment Network Switzerland-Southern Africa (TINSSA) brings together eight Swiss and southern African partner institutions in the economic and trade fields and is seen as a means of breathing life into the proposed FTA. Leitner believes that several instruments in Switzerland’s import promotion programme are not being used to the full, like its subsidised access to trade fairs and assistance with match-making. Many of these are particularly favourable for smaller businesses and niche products like organic foods and arts and crafts.