Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin flew to the US at short notice today. In his luggage: a new offer from the government to the US in the tariff dispute.
Also in today’s briefing: Swiss farmers can breathe a sigh of relief as they will have to deal with less bureaucracy. Also, are you a Coop or Migros customer? Two former CEOs talk about the competition between the two Swiss supermarket giants, especially in view of the rise of German discounters.
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin has travelled to the US with a new offer from the government in the tariff dispute.
Initially, it was only reported that Parmelin had travelled to the US at short notice overnight, which is why he had cancelled his appearance at an Economiesuisse event.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has confirmed that Parmelin’s trip was about the customs dispute between the US and Switzerland. “We have drawn up an optimised offer to the US,” Cassis told the media.
The offer is now part of the talks Parmelin is holding in the US. His trip was part of the second round of negotiations on the customs issue. At the time of writing, the exact programme of Parmelin’s trip was not known.
Due to Parmelin’s trip, an event organised by the business umbrella organisation Economiesuisse took place without him. However, customs duties were also a topic here. “We have to prepare for difficult times,” said UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti at the event. Even if customs duties were to fall from 39% to 15%, this would not be good news, he said. Nevertheless, Ermotti is confident that the government will find a solution. “We must not respond with isolationism,” he said.
Nobody likes dealing with (too much) bureaucracy. Farmers in Switzerland can now breathe a sigh of relief: a new action plan aims to remedy the situation.
Specifically, there will be one basic inspection per year and per farm instead of up to five as is currently the case. In addition, data is to be exchanged more consistently and processes bundled. At present, a farm with dairy cows, arable farming and vegetables, for example, can be inspected by different label organisations. “We want to coordinate this better,” says Economics Minister Guy Parmelin.
However, fewer inspections would not mean worse inspections, he said. “If the inspector finds that the Animal Welfare Act is not being complied with, for example, an additional risk-based inspection will be carried out.”
The action plan was signed by representatives of federal offices, cantons, label organisations and the Swiss Farmers Union and is to be implemented from 2026.
Following the tragic accident involving the historic Elevador da Glória funicular railway in Lisbon on Wednesday, the Swiss media are asking questions about the safety of funicular railways in Switzerland.
Around 200 public funicular railways operate in Switzerland, including the historic Reichenbach Falls railway in the Bernese Oberland. In an interview with the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, cable car safety expert Reto Canale emphasises the key differences between the railway system in Portugal and the funicular railways in Switzerland. To his knowledge, the Lisbon system would not be used in Switzerland.
It is true that most funicular railways in Switzerland also operate on the principle that two carriages travelling in opposite directions are connected to each other by a haul rope. However, the rails are exposed, so a rail brake can be installed.
What is the situation with the historic funicular railways in Switzerland? The Giessbach railway, for example, has been in operation since 1879 and is one of the oldest in Europe. For Markus Seitz, who has been documenting all public and private funicular railways in Switzerland for years, good maintenance is key.
Are you a Coop or a Migros person? Or rather Team Aldi? The last one is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. How did Coop and Migros react to the discounter back in 2005?
In an interview with Swiss public broadcaster SRF, Anton Scherrer and Hansueli Loosli, who were at the helm of Migros and Coop respectively 20 years ago, talk about the eternal duel between the two giants. Although they gave each other nothing, they say the competition back then was less fierce than it is today with the globally successful discounters Aldi and Lidl.
Aldi came to Switzerland in 2005, followed four years later by Lidl, and the big retail groups felt the effects. “We had a lot of respect,” recalls Scherrer. While Migros expanded its “combat range” with M-Budget, Coop launched its own low-cost line with Prix Garantie.
There seems to be agreement between the former group bosses, also in terms of expectations of the discounters. These had not really been fulfilled. “One of the main reasons is the customs barrier,” says Scherrer. Loosli adds: “They never achieved the market shares that they had probably aimed for. Nevertheless, they can be successful because they generate a good margin due to the higher price level in Switzerland.”
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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