Economiesuisse: EU-US agreement ‘limits damage’
Keystone-SDA
Swiss business association Economiesuisse considers the agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States on tariffs to be a damage limitation agreement. It is certainly not good, but it is clearly better than it would have been without the agreement, according to the trade association.
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The EU, the main trading partner of the Swiss economy, now has at least some legal security, economiesuisse’s Jan Atteslander told Swiss Public Radio SRF on Monday. In principle, this is good news for Switzerland, but 15% is a very high customs duty that holds back trade dynamics, he added.
Switzerland and its companies are indirectly affected by this restraining effect, as they are part of the value creation chain. “If a 15% increase is now applied, this will naturally dampen American demand,” Atteslander explained.
For its part, Bern is still waiting for an agreement with the US. US President Donald Trump has announced higher customs duties as of August 1 on imports from several countries, including Switzerland, if no agreement is reached with the respective governments by then.
Translated from Italian by DeepL/jdp
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