US tariffs putting 100,000 jobs at risk in Switzerland

"If customs duties were to be levied on medicines, many jobs in the pharmaceutical industry would also be affected", warned economiesuisse. Keystone-SDA

United States tariffs of 39% on Swiss imports will directly affect 100,000 jobs in Switzerland, mainly in the watchmaking, machinery, metals, and food industries, warned the business umbrella organisation economiesuisse on Friday.

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For the Swiss business federation, “the consequences could be even heavier, as suppliers and service providers also suffer indirectly”.

On August 1, Washington announced that Swiss exports to the US would be subject to customs duties of 39% from August 7, citing the trade deficit between the two countries. Pharmaceutical products, the driving force behind Swiss exports, are exempt for the time being, but US President Donald Trump has promised tariffs of up to 250% if the pharmaceutical groups do not reduce their drug prices.

“If customs duties were to be levied on medicines, many jobs in the pharmaceutical industry would also be affected”, warned economiesuisse.

+ Swiss government working with firms to overcome high US tariffs

Specifically, the electronics and watchmaking sectors would see nearly 20,000 jobs affected by customs duties, followed by the food and tobacco sector (close to 14,200 jobs) and pharmaceuticals (around 13,900 jobs).

Suppliers also in turmoil

“In reality, exporting companies probably have more employees on average, which is why the actual number of people affected could be higher”, said the umbrella organisation.

According to the federation, “the negative consequences of the competitive disadvantage represented by the US tariffs will not be limited to companies exporting to the United States”, but “will also affect suppliers to the Swiss export industry”.

+ How should Switzerland respond to the US tariffs?

While the Swiss government has expressed its determination to continue the dialogue with the US, economiesuisse has called on political leaders to “quickly and effectively lighten the administrative and regulatory burden on companies” and to “offset the competitive disadvantage on the US market by improving the framework conditions in Switzerland”.

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Translated from French with DeepL/gw

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