Trump administration pressure on scientists reaches Switzerland

Protesters rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2025. The rally was called to protest against cuts to federal agencies and medical research proposed by US President Donald Trump's administration. Keystone-SDA

The Trump administration has sent a questionnaire to the Swiss federal institute of technology ETH Zurich requiring it to show how its US-funded projects align with America’s new “political guidelines”. Project components touching on climate issues or diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) are thought to be in US sights. Here’s what you need to know.

What has the Trump administration asked of ETH Zurich?

ETH Zurich confirmed to the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper on March 16 that it had received a survey from the American authorities demanding information on its US-funded research.

“ETH Zurich is still examining, in consultation with other Swiss universities, how it should respond to the questionnaire,” spokesperson Christoph Elhardt told SWI swissinfo.ch.

The Swiss university refuses to reveal which specific projects are involved to protect those affected. It also says it cannot release the “confidential” survey or give any further details, apart from that “it mainly concerns questions about compliance with the political guidelines of the new US administration”.

Based on similar experiences in other countries (see below), some of the questions are likely to touch on gender, diversity and climate issues, which are on the US president’s radar. Excerpts of similar surveys have been circulating on social media in recent weeks showing questions like: “Can you confirm this is not a climate project or ‘environmental justice’ project or include any such elements?”

Are other Swiss universities affected?

So far, no other higher education institutions in Switzerland have reported receiving a questionnaire. But it is likely that other Swiss universities that receive US funding will also get one in the future, according to Luciana Vaccaro, president of swissuniversities, the conference of rectors of Swiss universities.

Vaccaro expressed concerns about the US initiative to Swiss public television, RSIExternal link, this week. “What worries me is that the American government is currently trying to bring us down to a level we’re not on,” she said, adding that science is “not a political party”.

Some Swiss politicians have criticised the US move.

“Freedom of research and the principle of equal rights for all prevail in our country. If the US wants to curtail these here, we cannot and must not accept it,” the Radical-Liberal (centre-right) politician Simone de Montmollin, president of the parliamentary Committee for Science, Education and Culture, told the NZZ. “If this practice takes on larger dimensions, then politicians must intervene,” she said.

How much do Swiss universities receive in funding from the US government?

Over the past ten years, ETH Zurich researchers have received CHF2.5 million ($2.8 million) a year in US government funding. The university currently has 14 ongoing research projects financed by US government institutionsExternal link. According to information provided by ETH Zurich, they cover a wide range of topics, including specialist health projects. One project, for example, is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US, which has recently faced massive cuts as part of the Trump administration’s purge of federal agencies.

For its part, the Swiss Federal Technology Institute Lausanne (EPFL) concluded five grant agreements last year with the US government worth CHF1.2 million. The money comes from US air force and army research agencies and the Department of Energy. EPFL also has ongoing grants with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA).

US-funded projects are also underway at other Swiss universities. There are five in Basel focusing on basic medical research, and 15 in Bern, worth $13 million, in the fields of biomedical research and space research funded by the NIH, the US Department of Defense and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). The University of Zurich says it receives around $1 million a year from the NIH. The University of Geneva says it has seven ongoing US-funded projects in the biomedical field worth $2.5 million.

“For the moment, we have no indication that their funding may be cut,” Geneva University spokesperson Antoine Guenot told SWI swissinfo.ch.

Which other countries have been affected by Trump’s initiative?

Australia’s top universities saidExternal link on March 13 that the Trump administration had cut US funding to some of its researchers and asked others who receive US government financial support to prove their work was aligned with American interests via a survey. The Group of Eight, a coalition of Australia’s most research-intensive universities, said the action could jeopardise crucial medical and defence research in the country.

The US is the biggest overseas funder of research in Australia. In 2024, US government funding to Australian research organisations totalled $386 million, the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) estimates.

On March 18 the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), which represents 72,000 academic and professional staff at over 125 universities and colleges, saidExternal link researchers working on projects funded wholly or in part by American federal agencies had also been sent a lengthy questionnaire to determine how their work aligns with the Trump “America First” agenda. It included questions on environmental justice, DEI elements and “increasing American influence globally”, among others.

Scientists from Wageningen University in the Netherlands have also reportedlyExternal link received surveys from US government funders. Researchers have been advised not to respond. Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) says it is keeping an eye on the situation.

Why is this happening now?

The international inquiries on the part of the US administration come as thousands of researchers and supporters of science in the US and in Europe protested under the banner of “Stand Up for Science” on March 7External link against actions taken by the administration to cut the US scientific workforce and slash spending on research worldwide. Since taking office in January, Trump and his team have laid off thousands of workers at US science agencies. The administration has also attempted to freeze research grants at science-funding agencies, including the US National Science Foundation.

The layoffs were presented as part of a broader push to shrink the 2.3-million-strong civilian federal workforce, save money and make it more efficient. But the US government also has other aims: curb research relating to diversityExternal link, some vaccinesExternal link and human causes of climate change.

Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, rolled back more than 100 environmental laws in his first term as president. He campaigned on a promise to “drill, baby, drill” and vowed to ease regulations on fossil fuel companies. In his second term, as part of a plan to roll back environmental and climate change initiativesExternal link that started under former President Biden, Trump has frozen funds for climate programmes and other environmental spending, fired scientists working for the National Weather Service and cut federal support for renewable energy.

This week the New York Times reported on plans by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to eliminate its scientific research office and fire more than 1,000 scientists and other employees. The Trump administration has also stripped mentions of climate change and global warming from government websitesExternal link and ordered a halt to programmes that reference DEI.

Edited by Veronica De Vore/dos