Before a visit by Swiss Federal President Ignazio Cassis to Berlin, the German economy is pushing for a restart of trade relations between the two countries. "There is currently a threat of a gradual deterioration in trade relations with Switzerland", said Volker Treier, head of foreign trade at the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). "Augsburg General"
(Thursday). "Since Switzerland broke off negotiations for an economic framework agreement with the EU, companies on both sides have increasingly been confronted with legal uncertainty and new trade hurdles."
Cassis will meet in Berlin on Thursday first with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and then with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). Treier said many German companies hoped for the visit "a strong impetus for improving the currently uncertain economic relations".
The DIHK expert reminded that the EU is Switzerland’s most important trading partner and that Switzerland is the EU’s fourth largest. But since the breakdown of negotiations on the harmonization of EU internal market rules, there have been problems in cross-border trade, for example with medical devices. As a rule, services in Switzerland would have to be registered eight days in advance. "This is a big problem, especially for the many German companies in the border area", Treier said. (dpa)