The European Union (EU) Council of Ministers has approved an updated trade deal with Switzerland that provides for duty free imports and exports of a wide range of food products.

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These include locust beans, sugar beet, chicory, animal and vegetable fats and oils, sugar syrups, caramel, cocoa butter, preserved vegetables, sweet corn, sweet potatoes and many others. The deal upgrades a trade agreement negotiated in 1972, with renegotiations being carried out since 2001.


Meanwhile, EU ministers have also approved a more limited trade deal with Norway that will annually allow 2,470 tonnes of Norwegian margarine into EU markets duty free.

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