On 11 December, the Swiss Federal Council extended sanctions against Belarus. Financial sanctions and travel bans were imposed on 15 individuals, including President Alexander Lukashenko. The new measures entered into force at 6pm on 11 December. The sanctions are in line with the decisions taken by the EU on 6 November 2020. The 15 persons newly added to the list in Annex 1 to the Ordinance on Measures against Belarus are alleged to be responsible…
On 2 December 2020, the WTO announced that Switzerland and the United Kingdom have completed the final step for making their respective participation in the revised Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) effective. As of 1 January 2021, the revised GPA will be in force for Switzerland, and the UK will be a party to the accord in its own right. The announcement said: Switzerland submitted the so-called “instrument of acceptance” to the WTO on 2 December.…
On 30 October 2020, the Swiss Federal Council announced that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) concluded between the states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Ecuador enters into force on 1 November. To that end, on 18 September, the Federal Council adopted the necessary amendments to the ordinances implementing the customs duty concessions set out in the agreement. This modern agreement will help to boost trade relations between the EFTA states and…
On 21 September 2020, the Federal Customs Administration announced that the EFTA-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement will enter into force on 1 November 2020. Some points: The EFTA-Ecuador Agreement provides for the cumulation of originating products between EFTA countries and Ecuador. Cumulation with input materials from Colombia and Peru is also permitted. These input materials must be originating products under the relevant agreement which are processed or incorporated into a product in EFTA countries or Ecuador;…
On 24 July 2020, the European Commission announced that at a meeting of the WTO Trade Policy Review Body, the European Union, backed by ten other members of the World Trade Organization (Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Republic of Korea and Switzerland), submitted a joint communication calling for more transparency in respect of trade-related measures introduced by partners around the world in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The aim is to…
On 24 June, the Swiss Government decided to impose coercive measures in response to the current situation in Nicaragua. Switzerland is therefore joining the European Union in imposing sanctions on Nicaragua due to ongoing violations against human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Our previous blog post on the EU’s recent imposition of sanctions is available here. The Swiss Federal Council has issued an Ordinance imposing financial and travel sanctions against six persons with ties…
On 29 April 2020, the Federal Council announced that the Federal Customs Administration (FCA) expects that the lockdown easing measures adopted by the Federal Council on 16 April will lead to a noticeable increase in the movement of goods. In dialogue with the business community, existing measures have been optimised and expanded, and the next steps outlined to ensure rapid processing of commercial goods traffic at the border. The Federal Council was informed of this…
Following the adoption by the European Commission of Regulation (EU) 2020/402 on 15 March 2020, as amended on 20 March 2020, introducing a prior licensing requirement for exports of medical protective equipment from EU Member States to third countries (except for exports to EFTA Member States, namely including Switzerland), the Swiss Government has on 25 March 2020, as part of its COVID-19 regulatory framework, adopted a Regulation, taking effect on March 26, 12:00am, requiring a prior license…
On March 17, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published in the Federal Register a document notifying the public of certain arrival restrictions. The document announces the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to direct all flights to the United States carrying persons who have recently traveled from, or were otherwise present within, the countries of the Schengen Area to arrive at one of the United…
On January 27, 2020, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a new Counter Terrorism and Iran-related General License No. 8 (“GL 8”) together with new frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) about the general license and the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (“SHTA”). New GL 8 authorizes US Persons and non-US entities owned or controlled by US Persons to engage in Iran-related humanitarian transactions even if the CBI is directly or indirectly involved. Although the US Government…