Switzerland’s economy returned to growth at the end of last year, mainly thanks to its services sector after steep US tariffs stalled exports and pulled down GDP in the third quarter.
Fourth-quarter growth reached 0.2 percent after the 0.5 percent slump in the previous quarter, when the key pharmaceutical and chemical sectors saw export declines, the economy ministry said.
“The services sector saw slight growth while the industrial sector stagnated,” the ministry said, adding that “Exporters have been curtailed by the difficult international context.”
For 2025 as a whole, GDP growth reached 1.4 percent, up from 1.2 percent the previous year.
US President Donald Trump stunned Switzerland last August when he imposed a 39 percent duty on imports of goods from the country, among the highest in his global tariff campaign.
But in November the two countries said they had reached an agreement to lower the tariffs to 15 percent, with the Swiss government vowing to invest $200 billion in the US to win over the White House.
The government had warned that growth would be just 1.3 percent in 2025 before slowing to 0.9 percent growth this year, before the tariff deal with Washington was announced.
