Cumulation allows the use of products from the country of origin of a signatory country, provided that they have already been imported with certificates of origin from the respective countries of origin. This means that materials that are already the country of origin of another signatory country do not need to be properly processed in Switzerland. In the manufacture of products with a Swiss country of origin, no material may be used that does not meet the criteria of the country of origin, which are subject to a refund or non-imposition of customs duties (e.B. imported and re-imported goods in the finishing sector). This rule does not apply to agreements with Singapore, South Korea, SACU, Canada, Japan, Colombia and Peru. Free trade agreements are designed to improve business relationships with key partners around the world. The aim is to eliminate or at least minimise obstacles to the Swiss economy on international markets. Tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade (e.g. B technical regulations, packaging and labelling regulations, import quotas) must be dismantled. Or there could be policies that exempt certain products from duty-free status to protect domestic producers from foreign competition in their industries. The United States currently has a number of free trade agreements. These include multinational agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which covers the United States, Canada and Mexico, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), which covers most Central American countries. There are also separate trade agreements with countries ranging from Australia to Peru.
Euro-Med cumulation: This is also possible with materials from Mediterranean countries, provided that all the free trade partners involved apply the same rules of origin and that there are agreements between them. Participating countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as the Faroe Islands. As of 1 January 2012, the following Western Balkan countries were also included in the Euro-Med cumulation area: Albania, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia. .