ZURICH – The new US tariff of 15 per cent on imported Swiss goods – down from a whopping 39 per cent – applies retroactively from Nov 14, the Swiss government announced on Dec 10.
shocked Switzerland in August
when he announced 39 per cent duties on imports of goods from the wealthy Alpine nation, among the highest in his global tariff blitz.
That left Switzerland scrambling to negotiate a better tariff deal, with ministers and business leaders flocking to Washington to try to convince the Trump administration to change course.
On Nov 14, Washington and Bern announced they had
struck a framework agreement
to bring the tariffs down to 15 per cent, with Switzerland vowing to invest US$200 billion (S$260 billion) in the United States.
“The US is applying a tariff ceiling of 15 per cent on imports from Switzerland. This applies retroactively from Nov 14, 2025,” a Swiss government statement said on Dec 10.
“In return, Switzerland will reduce import tariffs on certain fish and agricultural products from the USA.”
Bern said the new tariff ceiling would see the tariffs on Swiss goods would plunge.
“This will significantly improve access to the US market for Swiss companies,” it said.
“The competitiveness of Swiss companies will also be strengthened, as they will once again enjoy similar conditions on the US market as companies from the European Union or other US trading partners with a similar economic structure.”
The 39 per cent tariff rate jeopardised entire sectors of the export-heavy Swiss economy, notably watchmaking and industrial machinery, but also chocolate and cheese.
Besides their own tariff rate impacting the viability of exports to the United States, Swiss businesses also worried that competitors in other wealthy economies will have an edge, with the neighbouring EU and Japan having negotiated a 15 per cent tariff, and Britain securing a rate of 10 per cent.
Bern slashed its 2026 growth forecast as the tariffs weighed on its export-driven economy.
Two Swiss lawmakers have asked the country’s attorney-general to
probe the legality of gifts
reportedly given to Mr Trump by Swiss business leaders 10 days before the two nations cut the breakthrough tariff deal.
After the delegation went to Washington in early November, a Rolex table clock and an engraved gold bar later appeared on the president’s desk.
Mr Marwan Shakarchi, the head of precious metals trader MKS PAMP, and Rolex chief executive Jean-Frederic Dufour were among the business leaders at the meeting.
Prosecutors have been asked to investigate whether the gifts may have violated Swiss anti-bribery laws or constituted undue advantage under Swiss criminal law. AFP