Additional measures include pushing ahead free trade agreements with other countries to boost the export-oriented industry as well as additional funds for the Swiss tourism industry.
Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann told a news conference on Wednesday that the cabinet considered the situation of the strong franc against the euro was serious. However, he denied that Switzerland was facing a crisis.
“The currency issue will probably lead to a weaker economic growth, but there is still growth,” Schneider-Ammann said.
He reiterated that the Swiss economy has been spared the worst so far and that growth stood at about 2.7 per cent while the official unemployment rate was 3.6 per cent.
Schneider-Ammann had held discussions over possible scenarios to prevent a crisis and would take decisions in the weeks to come. He said the government was seeking ways to make transparent who may have benefited from the strong Swiss currency.
Last week the economics ministry held top-level talks with the business community and trade unions amid calls for state intervention to halt alleged currency speculation by commercial banks.
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Ministers urge patience over strong franc
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Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and Johann Schneider-Ammann said in separate interviews in several Sunday newspapers that they saw no need for urgent measures and pleaded for patience. Widmer-Schlumpf was quoted as saying the Swiss National Bank had done what it could last year to prevent inflation and to prop up the economy. She ruled out pegging the…
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He was speaking at a news conference in Bern after top-level talks organised by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) mandated by Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann. “If it continues, the high cost of the Swiss franc vis-à-vis the euro and the [United States] dollar entails considerable risks for the Swiss economy,” Gerber said.…
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Retailers are even more optimistic about increasing turnover and profits in 2011, shrugging off the possibility that more Swiss shoppers could opt to buy goods over the border to take advantage of a weakening euro. While a 1.7 per cent increase in turnover across the Swiss retail sector may not seem very large, Credit Suisse…
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The Swiss Business Federation, economiesuisse, supported the banks’ argument that there is no need to renew a “gentleman’s agreement” with the central bank to prevent currency traders from betting against the euro. The strength of the safe haven Swiss franc continues to haunt exporters and the tourism industry as it reaches new heights against the…
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