Swiss parliamentary panel backs talks with US on tariffs, trade pact

The committee made three additions to the negotiating mandate, according to committee president Sibel Arslan after a recent meeting. The amended mandate was adopted by the committee with 17 votes in favour, two against and five abstentions.

Among other things, the committee added that Switzerland would not be under any obligation if the CHF 200 billion ($250 billion) in investments promised to the United States were not made by Swiss private companies, Arslan said.

On the other hand, the proposal not to make any concessions to the United States, for example with regard to vehicle licences or meat imports, was rejected.

The foreign affairs committee of the Senate will now deal with the mandate.

The United States is applying a tariff ceiling of 15 per cent on imports from Switzerland, replacing the previous additional tariff of 39 per cent. This applies retroactively from November 14, 2025. In return, the latter will reduce import tariffs on certain fish and agricultural products from the former.

The basis for this is the joint statement published on November 14 between Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the United States.

With the entry into force of the new US customs regulations retroactively from November 14 this year, the applicable US tariffs on Swiss goods will be significantly reduced.

The existing exemptions from US additional tariffs remain in force unchanged.

In addition, based on the joint statement, the United States will lift the general additional tariff on further Swiss export products, including aircraft, certain aviation-related parts, rubber products, cosmetics and generic drugs. The list will be published in the US Federal Register. Switzerland is seeking further exemptions.

Products that were subject to a tariff rate of more than 15 per cent before April 2, 2025, will once again be subject to their original tariff rate.

For ongoing Section 232 investigations concerning pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, it was agreed in the joint statement that any additional sectoral tariffs imposed on Switzerland will not exceed 15 per cent.

In return, Switzerland will reduce tariffs for the United States on fish, seafood and certain agricultural products for which the reductions are compatible with Swiss agricultural policy.

Switzerland is also establishing duty-free bilateral quotas for the United States.

With the US tariff ceiling set at 15 per cent, trade-weighted US tariffs on Switzerland will fall by around 10 per cent on an average. This will significantly improve access to the US market for Swiss companies, a Swiss government release 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, it added.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)