New ‘Swissness’ rule meets with widespread opposition
Keystone-SDA
A new regulation allows the Swiss cross to be used on goods manufactured abroad. According to two surveys, SMEs and voters are firmly opposed to the new regulation, the Swiss Trade Association told the media in Bern.
Both business owners and voters fear that this will dilute the “Switzerland” brand and lead to a loss of consumer confidence. The Swiss Trade Association commissioned two surveys on this issue, it said on Tuesday.
The non-representative online survey was aimed at cantonal associations and received 289 responses. In parallel, the Demoscope Institute carried out a representative survey of 1,154 voters between mid-July and early August.
The results of both surveys painted a consistent picture. Almost 90% of the tradespeople and eligible voters surveyed believed that the Swiss cross should remain the exclusive right of domestic producers.
In the Demoscope survey, 60% of respondents stated that their confidence in the significance of the Swiss cross was diminishing as a result of the change in practice. Half of the business owners rated the new regulation as “very detrimental” to SMEs without overseas manufacturing.
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In both the business and public surveys, nearly nine out of ten respondents believed that the economy would be better supported if the Swiss cross remained the exclusive preserve of Swiss producers. A large majority also feared that a shift of production abroad would weaken Switzerland’s position as a centre of innovation.
This view was supported by Sven Reinecke, Executive Director of the Institute for Marketing & Customer Insight at the University of St Gallen (HSG). Images such as the Swiss cross have a more immediate impact than words and are perceived by consumers as a signal of origin and quality for the product as a whole, he said.
The association is therefore calling for the exclusivity of the Swiss cross for domestic producers to be reinstated swiftly, so as not to weaken Switzerland’s position as a centre of production and innovation in the long term.
The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property had changed its practice in March 2026. Since then, the Swiss cross has also been permitted for use with descriptions such as “Swiss Design” or “Swiss Engineering”, even if the product is manufactured entirely abroad. The institute justified the move by stating that the Swiss economy was suffering from the strength of the Swiss franc and high US tariffs.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
