Free trade agreement between Switzerland and Japan

The Agreement on Free Trade and Economic Partnership between Switzerland and Japan (short JSFTEPA of English Japan Switzerland Free Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement ) is a bilateral free trade agreement between Switzerland and Japan . It was negotiated during a total of eight rounds of negotiations between January 2007 and the end of 2008. With the signing of the agreement by Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard and the Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on February 19, 2009 in Tokyo, Switzerland became the first European country to sign a free trade agreement with Japan.

In Switzerland, the agreement was ratified by both councils of the Federal Assembly, on May 25, 2009 by the National Council and on June 8, 2009 by the Council of States. In Japan, the agreement was ratified on May 28th by the House of Commons ( Shūgiin ) and on June 24th, 2009 by the House of Lords ( Sangiin ).

The JSFTEPA has been in force since September 1, 2009.

negotiations

On the Swiss side, the two-year negotiations were conducted by the Federal Council's delegate for trade agreements, Ambassador Luzius Wasescha . The negotiator on the Japanese side was Mr. Jun Yokota, Ambassador for International Trade and Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs .

Ambassador Wasescha had specified that the negotiating venues in Switzerland should represent the diversity of the country, especially from the point of view of the four language regions . At the same time, a favorable climate should be created in order to reduce the everyday stress of the daily business of the negotiators. This was through negotiations in Savognin (GR) ( Romansch Switzerland ) where Wasescha he originates, in Thun ( German Switzerland ) in Cadro in Lugano ( Italian Switzerland ) and a trip during the last round of negotiations in Bern to Freiburg / Friborg ( Romandie ) be implemented successfully.

round	place	country	date	subjects
1.	Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Tokyo	Japan Japan	14.-18. May 2007	Services Basics for various areas Intellectual property Competition law Status of the Principality of Liechtenstein
2.	Secondary school building, Savognin (GR)	Switzerland Switzerland	9-13 July 2007	Public procurement E-commerce Working visit to Liechtenstein and inspection of the Swiss customs office in Schaanwald
3.	Yokohama	Japan Japan	15-19 October 2007	Beginning of negotiations on the text of the agreement
4th	Tuna	Switzerland Switzerland	26.-30. November 2007	whole range of topics
5.	Tokyo	Japan Japan	4-8 February 2008
6th	Cadro , Lugano	Switzerland Switzerland	19.-23. May 2008	Beginning of the final phase of negotiations
7th	Mita Kaigisho Conference Center, ( jp ) Tokyo	Japan Japan	23-27 June 2008	Industrial goods
8th.	Hotel Bernerhof , Bern	Switzerland Switzerland	22.-24. September 2008	Movement of goods Services and investments E-commerce legal and institutional issues Basic agreement and initialing of the agreement on September 24th late at night by the negotiators

Web links

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO): Agreement on Free Trade and Economic Partnership (FHWPA) , accessed on January 2, 2019
Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce (SJCC): Economic Data on Swiss-Japanese Economic Relations , accessed on January 2, 2019
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA): Japan-Switzerland Economic Partnership Agreement (English), accessed on January 2, 2019
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA): 日本・スイス経済連携協定 (Japanese), accessed January 2, 2019

Individual evidence

^ Agreement on free trade and economic partnership between Switzerland and Japan. State Secretariat for Economic Affairs , September 29, 2008, accessed on January 2, 2019 .
↑ The free trade agreement with Japan comes into force on September 1, 2009. State Secretariat for Economic Affairs , July 29, 2009, accessed on January 2, 2019 .
^ Free trade agreement between Switzerland and Japan. Approval. In: parlament.ch . June 8, 2009, accessed January 2, 2019 .
↑ The free trade agreement with Japan comes into force on September 1, 2009. State Secretariat for Economic Affairs , July 29, 2009, accessed on January 2, 2019 .
↑ Patrick Ziltener: Handbook Switzerland-Japan. P. 909
↑ The diplomats negotiate in the village school building. In: nzz.ch. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, July 8, 2007, accessed on March 27, 2019 .
↑ Patrick Ziltener: Handbook Switzerland-Japan. P. 912
↑ Patrick Ziltener: Handbook Switzerland-Japan. P. 914
↑ Patrick Ziltener: Handbook Switzerland-Japan. P. 934

[1] Agreement on free trade and economic partnership between Switzerland and Japan. State Secretariat for Economic Affairs , September 29, 2008, accessed on January 2, 2019 .

[2] The free trade agreement with Japan comes into force on September 1, 2009. State Secretariat for Economic Affairs , July 29, 2009, accessed on January 2, 2019 .

[3] Free trade agreement between Switzerland and Japan. Approval. In: parlament.ch . June 8, 2009, accessed January 2, 2019 .

[4] The free trade agreement with Japan comes into force on September 1, 2009. State Secretariat for Economic Affairs , July 29, 2009, accessed on January 2, 2019 .

[5] Patrick Ziltener: Handbook Switzerland-Japan. P. 909

[6] The diplomats negotiate in the village school building. In: nzz.ch. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, July 8, 2007, accessed on March 27, 2019 .

[7] Patrick Ziltener: Handbook Switzerland-Japan. P. 912

[8] Patrick Ziltener: Handbook Switzerland-Japan. P. 914

[9] Patrick Ziltener: Handbook Switzerland-Japan. P. 934