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EFTA States aim at maintaining and strengthening their competitive position worldwide. They have chosen to use the EFTA framework as much as possible to conclude free trade agreements with non-EU partners since the 1990s. The first FTAs were confined to trade in goods, i.e. industrial goods, fish, and processed agricultural products, with trade in basic agricultural products being covered by bilateral agreements with individual EFTA States. Additional elements of "first generation" FTAs were the protection of intellectual property rights and competition issues. More recent ("second generation") agreements add substantive rules on trade in services, investment and public procurement. EFTA States have also included model provisions on trade and sustainable development in the negotiating processes in a systematic manner since 2010.

(...) Liechtenstein maintains a Market Control and Surveillance Mechanism (MCSM) to comply with Swiss import requirements in such cases (Box 2.1). Amendments to the Additional Protocol to the Customs Union Treaty are made periodically to mirror legislation applicable due to amendments of the bilateral Swiss-EU Mutual Recognition Agreements. Now only a few products (chemicals, some telecom equipment, GMOs, fish, and fish products) remain subject to the MCSM.

Box 2.1 Liechtenstein's Market Control and Surveillance Mechanism
The MCSM (Market Control and Surveillance Mechanism) applies to professional traders, i.e. distributors/dealers/importers, and to three categories of goods (LGBl. 2009/394, Annex 1): (i) products on which Swiss and EEA import requirements remain different (e.g. pharmaceuticals, chemicals/goods hazardous to the environment, genetically modified organisms, some telecom equipment); (ii) goods subject to different tariffs under the 1972 FTA between Switzerland and the EU on the one hand, and the EEA agreement on the other (fish and fish products); and (iii) salt, as Liechtenstein exempts salt of EEA origin from the otherwise applicable Swiss salt monopoly.
(...)

Negotiations to link the Swiss and EU systems for trading in CO2 emission rights were launched in 2011, and the agreement was recently initialled by both sides. (...)

(...) The bilateral FTA with China, in force since 1 July 2014, comprises 16 chapters covering trade in goods and services, including customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade remedies, investment promotion, transparency in government procurement, environmental issues and dispute settlement. (...)

Most economic sectors are open to investment by Swiss nationals and foreigners. However, investment restrictions continue to apply to areas under state monopolies, including certain rail transport services, some postal services, and certain insurance services and commercial activities (e.g. trade in salt). Restrictions (in the form of domicile requirements) are also applied in air and maritime transport , hydroelectric and nuclear power, operation of oil and gas pipelines, and transportation of explosive materials.

[Context:
3.32. The Switzerland-Liechtenstein Customs Union has bound "other duties and charges" (ODCs) on the tariff lines covered in their schedule of concessions at zero. However, Switzerland applies levies on imports of certain goods that are subject to compulsory reserve stock requirements to finance these reserve stocks. Under the compulsory stock system, these are called "guarantee funds", which are managed by five private organizations/cooperatives: CARBURA (energy), Réservesuisse (foodstuffs), Agricura (fertilizer), Helvecura (therapeutic products), and Provisiogas (natural gas), on behalf of the federal government. In the case of foodstuffs, fees are levied on basic foodstuffs, such as rice, sugar, coffee, edible oils and fats, cereals for bread making, durum wheat and feedstuffs, which are collected by Réservesuisse (Table 3.6). These fees are levied in addition to customs duties. No guarantee fund contributions are levied on domestically produced foodstuffs (Réservesuisse) or energy products (CARBURA) subject to reserve stock requirements, whereas Agricura, Helvecura and Provisiogas levy fees on both domestic and imported goods (Section 3.1.5).]

Table 3.6 Guarantee fund contributions, 2016
Guarantee fund contribution (GFC)
CARBURA (energy)
Petroleum spirit and fractions SwF 3.30/m3
Diesel oil SwF 3.30/m3
Biofuels SwF 3.30/m3
Biodiesel SwF 3.30/m3
Bioethanol and petrol mixture SwF 3.30/m3
(...)

Switzerland applies a number of prohibitions and restrictions on imports, mainly for reasons of security, health, protection of intellectual property, and protection of the environment. (...)

Table 3.12 Selected products subject to import prohibitions, 2012
Products Regulation/agreement Purpose
Endangered species and their products CITES Environment
(...)
Certain toxic and environmentally hazardous chemical substances Ordinance on Risk Reduction Related to Chemical Products (RS 814.81) Environment/public health and safety
(...)
Certain carbon-zinc batteries and alkali-manganese batteries/accumulators Protocol to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (RS 0.814.326) Environment
(...)

(...) imports of some plant and plant products from certain countries are prohibited where the phytosanitary situation of these products presents a clear danger of introduction of pests or diseases into Switzerland. For some products, such as potatoes, the prohibition applies to all countries except those that are members of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO).