The economics ministers signed last summer already
Keystone
The Swiss parliament has passed the free trade agreement between Switzerland and China, despite some lingering concerns about human rights and immigration. Several senators abstained from the vote.
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swissinfo.ch and agencies
On Thursday, the Senate approved the agreement 25 to three, with 11 abstentions. In December 2013, the House of Representatives passed it with a majority of more than two thirds.
Supporters insisted that the agreement was very important for foreign economic policy as China is Switzerland’s third largest trading partner. In 2012, Swiss exports to China were valued at CHF8 billion ($9 billion), and imports from there amounted to CHF10 billion.
Opponents argued that there should be binding provisions on human rights and labour laws in China. They suggested that the cabinet could make these palatable by compromising with the Chinese in the area of financial services.
Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann told opponents that it would be “unrealistic to think that progress could be made via additional negotiations”. He also pointed out that Switzerland would not be obliged to accept goods produced via prison labour.
Many politicians said it was important to approve the deal following the “yes” vote on the recent immigration initiative, which left a lot of questions about the future of the bilateral relations. This is China’s first such deal with a continental European nation.
During the discussions, there was talk of submitting the issue to voters in a referendum, but the senators rejected the idea by 23 to 16.
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