Swiss upper house of parliament backs Mercosur trade deal

ZURICH, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Switzerland's upper house of parliament approved a trade agreement with the South American bloc Mercosur on Monday after promising support for Swiss farmers, sending the deal back to the lower chamber, where it was rejected in June.

A year after the Swiss economy minister signed the deal in Brazil, upper house lawmakers passed the accord coupled with financial aid for farmers worth 517 million Swiss francs ($633 million) over six years to cushion its impact.

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 with 35 votes in favour and seven against. There were three abstentions.

Farming is a sensitive policy area in Switzerland and opposition to the agreement in the lower house this summer had come from both the right and left of the political spectrum.

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

($1 = 0.8162 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Alexander Smith )