The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Switzerland holds back on US tariff countermeasures

Federal Council currently refrains from countermeasures to US tariffs
Federal Council currently refrains from countermeasures to US tariffs Keystone-SDA

The Swiss government has decided against immediate countermeasures against high United States tariffs on Swiss goods.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

Ramping up trade tensions is not in Switzerland’s interest, the government said.

In its communication on Thursday, the Federal Council also fears that countermeasures on the part of Switzerland would be associated with costs for the Swiss economy. In particular, imports from the US would become more expensive.

More

According to US policy, all Swiss goods exports would be subject to 31 or 32% customs duties when imported into the US. Compared to other US trading partners with a similar economy, Switzerland would thus be faced with particularly high additional tariffs.

Swiss exports are expected to be subject to additional tariffs of 10% from Saturday (5 April) and a further 21% from Wednesday (9 April). “The calculations of the US government are not comprehensible to the Federal Council,” the statement said.

More
a journalist talking to camera

More

What is a tariff? A quick guide

This content was published on Tariffs play a key role in US President Donald Trump’s economic strategy and diplomatic moves. But who truly benefits, and who pays the price?

Read more: What is a tariff? A quick guide

According to the Federal Council, important export products such as machinery, watches and agricultural goods such as coffee capsules, energy drinks, cheese and chocolate will be affected by the additional tariffs. However, no additional tariffs are currently planned for exports from the pharmaceutical industry.

The Federal Council now wants to analyse the measures announced by US President Donald Trump and their impact on Switzerland in greater depth. It is in contact with the affected industries and the US authorities.

What is your opinion? Join the debate:

External Content

Translated from German with DeepL/mga

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. A journalist then briefly reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team.

Did you find this explanation helpful? Please fill out the short survey on this page to help us understand your needs.

Most Read
Swiss Abroad

Most Discussed

News

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR