Every five years the Federal Shooting Competition in Valais opens its doors to around 40,000 enthusiasts from all over Switzerland. The latest edition took place in June and July. The fair never fails to attract visitors. Most of the weapons in use are made in Switzerland.
But, small weapon manufacturing in Switzerland is on the decline. Even though manufacturers haven’t released trade figures, the downward trend is clear.
Gone are the days of the booming Swiss arms industry. One beneficiary was the Swiss company SIG, the official supplier of automatic assault rifles for the Swiss army. During the 20th century, its facilities in Neuhausen produced more than a million assault rifles. In 2000 SAN Swiss Arms took over the SIG weapons division and in 2014 half of the workers in Neuhausen were made redundant
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Critics outraged over easing of arms exports
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The motion was passed with 94 votes against 93 and six parliamentarians abstaining. In a rare exception, the speaker of the House took part in the vote and made the difference. The decision means that Swiss weapons exports are only banned to countries where there is a major risk that the arms are used to…
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Small Arms Survey ranked Switzerland sixth in overall arms exports behind the United States, Italy, Germany, Brazil and Austria, and ahead of Israel, Russia and South Korea. Swiss small arms and ammunition exports amounted to $191 million (CHF172 million) in 2011, compared with $917 million in the US. The report was presented at the United…
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The government in January vetoed the deal for handgun parts worth more than CHF400,000 on the grounds that the handguns – assembled in the US for export to Saudi Arabia – could be used to violate human rights. The latest statistics on Swiss export licences of arms and weapons parts – ranging from electronic equipment,…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.