WTI study suggests minimal negative impact of EFTA-Mercosur free trade deal

Two studies commissioned by the Swiss Governement forecast little to no negative environmental or agricultural impact of the EFTA-Mercosur free tarde agreement. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) published the results last week. One of these studies was carried out by the World Trade Institute in June 2019.

The study by the WTI analysed the environmental impact that trade could have in Switzerland and the Mercosur states, with 2040 taken as the reference year.

It predicted that the increase in greenhouse gas emissions due to the FTA would be 0.1% in Switzerland, 0.02% in the Mercosur states and 0.0004% globally in said reference year. Air pollution would increase by about 0.2% in Switzerland, while it would remain practically stable in the Mercosur countries and internationally.

The second study. which was carried out by Swiss agricultural research body "Agroscope" showed that the deal would have little impact on trade in agricultural products and thus on Swiss production and the prices charged by Swiss producers.