The European Commission responded swiftly to Trump’s threats, warning that it would respond “firmly and immediately” to new tariffs, though the details of the retaliatory measures are not yet known.
There have also been concerns in Switzerland’s economic circles ever since Trump’s election about the impact his trade war would have on the country.
Even though Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it is bound to it by trade agreements.
Additionally, the EU, and particularly Germany, constitute Switzerland’s biggest export market, which means that Swiss companies will also be impacted if Trump makes good on his treats to impose hefty tariffs on European imports.
READ ALSO: Switzerland ‘should prepare for losses’ from Trump’s trade tariffs
Additionally, the United States is one of the main destinations for Swiss exports and direct investments abroad.
Higher tariffs could diminish the revenue – totalling 56.7 billion francs in 2023 – from US-bound exports.
‘No consequences’
However, Swiss president Karin Keller-Sutter, who also acts as the country’s Finance Minister, said she is confident that Switzerland will not be caught in the crossfire of the looming trade war between Washington and Brussels.
“According to my current information, there should be no consequences for Switzerland,” said Karin Keller-Sutter, who is currently attending the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers in South Africa.
But she has not elaborated about why Switzerland – and especially its pharmaceutical sector, one of the country’s main export industries – would be spared.
Advertisement
Toeing Washington’s line
This answer may come from an interview that Helene Budliger Artieda, head of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), recently gave to Swiss media.
In it, she pointed out that “our pharmaceutical companies already produce a lot in the USA. No country invests more in research and development in the USA than Switzerland”.
Additionally, Swiss companies also pay average wages of $140,000 (126,400 francs) per year in the United States.
By supporting the US economy in this way, “we have been doing exactly what the new government wants for a long time”, she added.
Advertisement
The ‘like’ factor
And then there is this: according to the Swiss Forum on Foreign Policy (Foraus), “Trump distrusts multilateral forums [like the EU]. He prefers bilateral relations – and he apparently likes Switzerland”.
However, only the (near) future will tell whether he likes Switzerland enough to spare it from his tariff war.
