EU: Mercosur Deal Gets Member States' Backing, But Parliament A Potential Hurdle
With the 17:00CET (11:00ET, 16:00GMT) deadline having passed for EU member states to approve the EU-Mercosur trade deal via a written mechanism (where gov'ts can approve decisions in writing rather than having to convene a Council meeting), the agreement is set to go forward for signing next week. Initial expectations that the signing could come as soon as 12 Jan appear to have been premature, with Euractiv reporting that a signing ceremony in Paraguay could happen "after Wednesday".
- Even then, the deal is not fully safe from intervention. The European Parliament will need to vote on ratifying the deal. MEPs next meet for a plenary session on the week of 19 January, where a vote could take place on whether to refer the deal to the European Court of Justice.
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SWITZERLAND: Gov't Confirms Lower 15% US Tariffs Retroactively From 14 Nov
The gov't has now formally confirmed that the lowering of tariffs on Swiss exports to the US from 39% to 15% will be in effect retroactively from 14 November. Reuters reported the same information on 9 Dec, which came from a statement on the gov't website. The statement was swiftly removed, and a gov't spox said they could not comment on the information.
- Statement: "The existing exemptions from US additional tariffs – including pharmaceuticals, certain chemicals, gold and coffee – remain in force unchanged. In addition, based on the joint statement, the US is to lift the general additional tariff on further Swiss export products, including aircraft, certain aviation-related parts, rubber products, cosmetics and generic drugs."
- Statement: "For ongoing Section 232 investigations concerning pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, it was agreed in the joint statement that any additional sectoral tariffs imposed on Switzerland will not exceed 15%. In return, Switzerland will reduce tariffs for the USA on fish, seafood and certain agricultural products..."
- Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, in charge of the economy ministry, said in a presser that "Switzerland has made no concessions to reduce tariffs retroactively".
- Reuters: "Swiss companies have welcomed the tariff reduction, which puts them on a level playing field with EU competitors. Many businesses have held back on sending goods while they waited for lower tariffs to come into force."
- Bloomberg News: "As the trade deal between the two countries is a preliminary agreement, the lower rate that’s taking effect still hinges on the outcome of Swiss-US talks to finalize the details."
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