12/12/2017 (Agence Europe) – Speaking on the sidelines of the WTO ministerial conference in Buenos Aires on Sunday 10 December, Swiss Federal Councillor for the Economy Johann Schneider-Ammann expressed his country’s concerns at a possible free-trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Argentine, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). He said that, were there to be an EU-Mercosur agreement, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which Switzerland is a member, should conclude a similar deal with the South America bloc “as quickly as possible”. The Swiss pharmaceutical, machine and other industries “would immediately find themselves disadvantaged” by an EU-Mercosur agreement, he warned. (EH)