Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Swiss tourism is thriving, and last winter it set new records. Fresh statistics now reveal more precisely where this windfall is coming from.
Our selection of today’s news also covers the climate risks threatening Switzerland and decisions taken at the federal government’s weekly meeting.
Enjoy your reading!
Switzerland’s trade troubles with the US are far from over. The Trump administration has just added Switzerland and Ireland to its list of trading partners “requiring particular attention”. With this addition, the list now includes nine countries, among them Germany, Japan and South Korea.
What these countries have in common is a large trade surplus with the United States. Washington attributes these imbalances to potential unfair practices by its trading partners, such as currency manipulation or non-tariff trade barriers.
According to a semi-annual report from the US Treasury published yesterday, Switzerland and Ireland show no monetary policy irregularities. However, both are being flagged for current account surpluses deemed excessive. The current account reflects all financial transactions between two countries. Ireland’s surplus amounts to 17.3% of GDP, and Switzerland’s to 5%.
Switzerland is under particular pressure from Washington. In April, President Trump announced a 31% tariff on Swiss products imported into the US. The implementation of these tariffs has been suspended until July 9. In the meantime, Swiss authorities are working to negotiate relief.
Last winter broke records for Swiss tourism. With 18.5 million overnight stays, Swiss hotels welcomed more guests than ever before – thanks in particular to a surge in visitors from the United States.
From November to the end of April, hotels registered a 2.8% increase compared with the same period the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The ski lift association also described the winter season as “exceptional”.
Favourable snow conditions, with snowfall beginning in November and again just before Christmas, helped boost bookings. Foreign visitors accounted for 5.5% of the growth, with Americans alone contributing 1.2 million overnight stays – up 12.4%. Swiss guests accounted for 9.3 million stays, also a record.
Foreign guests hailed from 71 countries. The top three were Germany (708,738 overnight stays), the United States (522,134) and France (382,705). Most foreign tourists came from neighbouring countries, with French tourists favouring the French-speaking cantons, Germans heading to the German-speaking regions and Italians to Ticino. There were three exceptions: in Valais, Zurich and Lucerne, Americans topped the list.
Could Switzerland face a water shortage? A report from the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) suggests that even the “water tower of Europe” is not immune to climate risks.
The report, published yesterday, outlines 34 key climate-related risks. The most significant stem from rising temperatures and summer droughts. By 2060, summer rainfall is projected to decline by up to 25%, and droughts are expected to last longer. Experts also predict up to 15 days of extreme heat per summer, compared with just one today.
Paradoxically, water may also pose a problem in another way: short, intense storms are set to become more frequent, increasing destructive surface runoff. The FOEN report states that 62% of Swiss buildings are at risk from heavy rainfall.
While climate change does bring some positives, such as reduced heating costs, these benefits are vastly outweighed by the threats. The report stresses that reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 is essential to avoid potentially uncontrollable consequences.
At its weekly meeting today, the Swiss government addressed several pressing issues.
First, it released CHF5 million ($6 million) in emergency aid for Blatten, the mountain village devastated by a recent rockslide. The funds will cover costs not met by insurance or subsidies and may assist victims in particularly severe situations.
Second, in the wake of the Credit Suisse collapse, the government has decided to tighten regulations for UBS. The banking giant must now hold more capital for its foreign subsidiaries. This aims to minimise risks “for the Confederation, taxpayers and the economy”.
Lastly, cost-cutting is on the agenda. The government will discontinue several statistical surveys as part of efforts to curb the Federal Statistical Office’s structural deficit.
Translated from French using DeepL/amva/ts
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