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With partners outside the Euro-Mediterranean area, Switzerland is generally seeking FTAs that are comprehensive in scope, including trade in goods, services, investment, intellectual property, competition, government procurement and trade facilitation. In addition, provisions on trade and sustainable development have been proposed to all negotiating partners in recent years, and have already been included in several FTAs.

In Switzerland's view, trade has to play an important role in addressing the goals of sustainable development, as reflected in the United Nations 2030 Agenda, and the challenge of climate change in particular. In WTO and other international organizations, Switzerland therefore actively advocates policies and rules that promote sustainable development and coherence between trade rules and relevant environmental, labour and social commitments.

As referred to above, Switzerland remains hopeful that the WTO negotiations on an Environmental Goods Agreement will be concluded successfully. Switzerland also strongly supports multilateral and plurilateral talks aimed at abolishing fisheries subsidies detrimental to the environment, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 14.6. In the course of 2017, new regulations will become effective in Switzerland for imports of products from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IIU) fishing.

Switzerland is actively engaged in the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform. Formed in 2010, this group promotes a phasing-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, as envisaged by G20 and APEC leaders. It encourages governments to undertake voluntary peer reviews with a view to a phase-out of such subsidies by 2025.

In the period under review, and as mentioned above, Switzerland moved to negotiating and concluding free trade agreements with a dedicated chapter on trade and sustainable development. With some partner countries, Switzerland also engages in labour dialogues accompanying the implementation of FTAs.

Sustainability-oriented support to partner countries has been provided through UNIDO's Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production Programme and UNCTAD's Biotrade Facilitation Programme.

On 25 May 2016, Switzerland ratified the Minamata Convention, which aims at protecting the environment and human health worldwide through the prohibition of exports of mercury except under specific conditions.

For Switzerland to continue to succeed in a rapidly evolving, interdependent global economy, open markets and non-discriminatory trade rules are of fundamental importance. At the same time, Switzerland is mindful of a strong need to make trade work more and better for developing countries, in particular LDCs, and for sustainable development more generally in line with the UN 2030 Agenda. Switzerland will therefore actively pursue mutually supportive economic, social and environmental policies both at the domestic and global levels.

The Trade Policy Review reflects at the same time the high degree of Liechtenstein's integration in the European Economic Area (EEA), the second pillar of its foreign economic policy. The EEA Agreement forms the legal basis for economic cooperation between the three EEA EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) and the EU (currently 28 Members). As a party to the EEA Agreement, Liechtenstein fully participates in the EU's Internal Market, which is based on the principle of the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital, with uniform and common rules governing competition, including state aid. In addition, the Agreement covers cooperation in i.e. research and development, education, social policy, the environment, consumer protection, tourism, and culture. For the last 22 years, the EEA agreement has been the most important pillar for Liechtenstein's economic actors to participate in the European markets.

The primary sector employs 0.8% of the total workforce. The number of employees in the primary sector stayed stable in 2014 and 2015. Especially the dairy industry is important for Liechtenstein farmers. Some 55 farms produce around 13 million kg milk per year. In 2013, one third of 109 registered farms were certified to produce agricultural products according to organic farming production methods. The Liechtenstein agricultural sector plays an important role for the sustainable maintenance of hilly and mountainous areas, which make up two thirds of Liechtenstein's territory.