Switzerland says not planning to counter Trump tariffs for now

Bern, Switzerland (AFP) April 3 - Switzerland, which was hit hard by US President Donald Trump's global tariff onslaught, is not planning to retaliate "at the present time", the government said Thursday.

"An escalation is not in Switzerland's interest," President Karin Keller-Sutter told reporters, after Washington announced plans to slap 31-percent tariffs on the wealthy Alpine nation's exports to the United States.

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter (R) and Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin address a press conference on US tariffs in Bern on April 3, 2025.
Switzerland is not planning to retaliate against the steep tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump "at this stage", the country's government announced. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

In a statement, Switzerland's government, known as the Federal Council, explained that "countermeasures against US tariff increases would entail costs for the Swiss economy, in particular by making imports from the USA more expensive".

"The Federal Council is therefore not planning to impose any countermeasures at the present time."

Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin told reporters that he and Keller-Sutter, who also serves as Swiss finance minister, would travel to the United States "very soon".

Given Switzerland's large trade surplus with the United States, Trump decided to impose far higher tariffs on the wealthy Alpine nation than the 20 percent slapped on the neighbouring European Union.

The 31-percent levy on Swiss imports to the US came as a surprise to some economic and political decision-makers, who had hoped Switzerland would be protected by its deep commitment to liberalism and its significant investments in the United States.

- 'Insecurity' -

Keller-Sutter said she was in close contact with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and that Switzerland was "coordinating" its response with the bloc, stressing that there had so far been no talk of imposing "sanctions" on Washington.

The impact of the announced tariffs on the Swiss economy remains difficult to assess, but Parmelin said "one should not expect Switzerland to go into recession".

"The measures that have just been taken are incomprehensible and totally counterproductive,... for the global economy, the Swiss economy, of course, but also for the American economy," Parmelin said.

He said Bern was not ruling out filing a complaint before the World Trade Organization, but stressed: "our priority is to have the discussion directly at all levels in the United States".

- 'Relatively balanced' -

Trump labelled Wednesday's tariffs "reciprocal" but many experts say his administration's estimates for levies placed on US imports by other countries are wildly exaggerated.

Bern insisted its bilateral trade balance with the United States -- its second biggest trading partner after the EU -- was "relatively balanced".

The United States, it said, enjoyed a " surplus in service exports and Switzerland in goods exports".

The government said the announced tariffs would impact "key exports such as machinery, watches and agricultural goods", including coffee capsules, energy drinks, cheese and chocolate.

Switzerland's leading pharma sector should see its drug production benefit from exemptions, it said.

Swissmem, an employer association for Switzerland's mechanical and electrical engineering industries, voiced fear that the sector's exports to the US, which last year stood at 10.1 billion Swiss francs ($11.8 billion), could see a "massive reduction".

That would in particular hit small and medium-sized enterprises without locally-based factories, it warned.

Analysts also warned that Switzerland's large luxury and watchmaking industries could be among the hardest-hit.

Switzerland is the sixth-largest foreign investor in the United States and ranks first in research and development, with its companies generating around 400,000 well-paid jobs there, the Economiesuisse employers' organisation said.