Swiss Review 4/2018

12 Swiss Review / July 2018 / No.4 Politics cilable with Switzerland’s obligations to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the EU and states with which free trade agreements exist, accord- ing to the government. The SP’s counterproposal stands little chance of success The majority of MPs take the same view as the Federal Council. Commit- tee rapporteur Hansjörg Walter, an SVP National Councillor from Thur- gau, also dubbed the initiative infea- sible due to international trade law and the excessive controls. Berne BDP National Councillor Heinz Siegen- thaler believes correct product dec- laration is more important than checks. Consumers can already buy healthy and fairly produced food to- day. Regine Sauter, an FDP National Councillor fromZurich, believes this initiative is about more than just food. It could jeopardise jobs and the at- tractiveness of Switzerland as a cen- tre of business. Bastien Girod, the Greens National Councillor from Zu- rich, underlines that there is some- thing wrong with the system if high quality standards are required in Switzerland but are not applied to food imports. The SP appeared divided over the issue in Parliament. Lucerne SP Na- tional Councillor Prisca Birrer-Hei- moz warned that pressure on Swit- zerland to lower its product standards could increase if the initiative were accepted. There is also the risk of higher food prices. On the other hand, Martina Munz, the SP MP from Schaffhausen, believes there are only four countries in the world which spend less money on food than Swit- zerland in relation to their purchas- ing power. In a compromise proposal, the Basel SP representative Beat Jans suggested favouring the import of sustainable food by lowering cus- toms duties on them instead of ban- ning the import of certain products. This counterproposal is just as un- likely to succeed in Parliament as the popular initiative itself. “Change in agricultural policy urgently required” The second initiative also found a sympathetic ear in Parliament but ul- timately received little support. One of the main reasons for the “For food sovereignty” popular initiative – sub- mitted by the farming unionUniterre and supported by 70 organisations – is discontent with structural change in the agricultural sector. “Two or three farms are closing down every day. Farming income has fallen by 30% over the past 30 years and more than 100,000 jobs have been lost. The food sovereignty initiative will deliver the urgently needed change in agricul- tural policy,” argue the authors of the initiative. Its aim is “diverse and rural agri- culture free of genetic engineering which protects natural resources”. Those behind the initiative want “fair prices” and “fair income” for farmers and agricultural workers. Regulative customs duties should enable “fair in- ternational trade”. It also aims to “en- courage short cycles and to enable and revitalise regional production”. The initiative’s text states that, in addition, federal government should take effec- tive measures aimed at “increasing the number of people employed in ag- riculture and fostering structural di- versity”. In the Federal Council’s view, the initiative contains demands already taken into account by federal govern- ment’s current agricultural policy, on the one hand, andwhich conflict with it on the other. National government rejects “greater state structural con- trol and additional market interven- tion”. The Bernese SVPNational Coun- cillor Erich von Siebenthal sees the initiative as an “indication of the des- perate state of affairs”. The prices of agricultural products have fallen over recent years, while the pressure on farms is growing. However, all the par- liamentary groups – with the excep- tion of the Greens – opposed the initi- ative in Parliament. FDP President Petra Gössi believes the proposal is “backward-looking” and heading to- wards protectionism and a planned economy. Test run for official agricultural policy Debate in the National Council pri- marily focused on the Federal Coun- cil’s agricultural policy rather than the initiative that is doomed to fail in Parliament. The Federal Council had announced on 1 November 2017 that it intended to base agricultural policy on free trade from 2022. Representa- tives of the SVP, CVP and left-wing parties, in particular, denounced these proposals as incomprehensible, mainly because the Swiss people had only recently approved the previously mentioned constitutional article on food safety in September 2017, demon- strating their desire to strengthen the agricultural sector. Despite the fact that almost all the parliamentary groups, with the exception of the Greens, rejected both popular initiatives, the referen- dum campaign will provide an op- portunity for a broad debate on agri- culture in general. However, it will also test the mood of the people re- garding federal government’s agri- cultural policy in particular.