Swiss lower house of parliament signs off Mercosur trade deal

ZURICH, Sept 16 - Switzerland's lower house of parliament on Wednesday approved a trade agreement with the South American bloc Mercosur days after the upper house had given its backing to the corresponding bill, which also contains financial support for Swiss farmers.

The lower house initially rejected the Mercosur deal in June, but approved it after lawmakers included financial aid for farmers worth 517 million Swiss francs ($631 million) over six years to cushion the effects of the agreement.

Farming is a sensitive policy area in Switzerland and the trade accord is likely to be put to a referendum under the country's system of direct democracy.

The deal between member states of the European Free Trade Association, or EFTA, and the core Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay passed the lower house with 118 votes in favour and 66 against. There were 10 abstentions.

Switzerland is the biggest economy in EFTA, which also includes Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. REUTERS