Simon Wüthrich-Bovet

Simon Wüthrich-Bovet is Head of Trade Relations Coordination at the European Free Trade Association in Geneva. He is in charge of trade analysis and policy coordination, as well as investment, trade in services, SMEs and e-commerce in trade negotiations. He previously served as the Deputy Head of the Americas Unit at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

Simon obtained his PhD in political science at the World Trade Institute in 2017. In his dissertation, he assessed the interplay between domestic politics and FTA negotiation processes. Simon’s academic background further includes a MSc in international political economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a LLM in International Business Law from the University of Zurich.

Simon’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including International Interactions, Business & Politics, the Swiss Political Science Review, and the Journal of International Economic Law. He is still active in research on the political economy of international trade.

Recent Publications:

"Main Act or Side Show? Model Agreements by International Institutions and Their Reuse in Investment Treaty Texts" (with Wolfgang Alschner and Manfred Elsig): https://academic.oup.com/jiel/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jiel/jgac044/6843049

"Challenged in Geneva: WTO Litigation Experience and the Design of Preferential Trade Agreements" (with Manfred Elsig): https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-and-politics/article/abs/challenged-in-geneva-wto-litigation-experience-and-the-design-of-preferential-trade-agreements/C6581457A40C382CD3A0F3270F84A05D

“Seal the Deal: Bargaining Positions, Institutional Design, and the Duration of Preferential Trade Negotiations” (with Lisa Lechner): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03050629.2018.1500367

"Seeking Domestic Approval: Determinants of Ratification Duration in International Trade": https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/spsr.12393