Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
It’s a deal! The Swiss government said this afternoon that US tariffs on its exports would be reduced from 39% to 15% – the same level as the EU.
Twenty years after the “Shame of Istanbul”, the Swiss media recall the dramatic qualifying matches for the 2006 football World Cup.
The Swiss government said this afternoon that US tariffs on its exports would be reduced from 39% to 15% and thanked US President Donald Trump for a constructive engagement.
“Switzerland and the US have successfully found a solution: US tariffs will be reduced to 15%,” the Swiss government said in a post on X. This is the same tariff level as the European Union.
The Swiss authorities thanked Trump, adding that the recent meeting between Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had been “productive”.
Swiss companies are planning to make direct investments in the United States worth $200 billion (CHF160 billion) by 2028 as part of the deal, Parmelin said on Friday.
“Switzerland made no concessions in the negotiations that would call its sovereignty or neutrality into question, including regarding sanctions or investment controls,” he added at a press conference following the announced deal.
Additionally, Switzerland will reduce import duties on a range of US products, including all industrial products, fish and seafood and “non-sensitive” agricultural products, according to a declaration of intent.
In a US television interview with CNBC, Greer said the details would be published on the White House website later today. He told CNBC that under the agreement, Switzerland will send a lot of manufacturing to United States and bring down its US trade surplus, adding that the pact also targets pharmaceuticals, gold smelting and railway equipment.
There are more and more Swiss honorary consulates around the world. However, a new report by the Control Committee of the Senate (CPC) shows that structural gaps, unclear strategies and reputational risks lurk behind the “shadow diplomacy”. Reforms are being demanded.
The number of Swiss honorary consulates has doubled in 30 years. Today, 224 people hold the office of honorary consul in 105 countries. Against this backdrop, the Control Committees of the Federal Assembly (CPC) commissioned the Parliamentary Administration Control (PAC) with an evaluation in January 2024. According to a press release issued by the CPC-S, the evaluation found that the Swiss honorary consuls abroad “provide added value and that the foreign ministry provides them with appropriate support overall”.
However, there are also gaps in the system: according to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), the audit report criticises the fact that the foreign ministry lacks “strategic guidelines” for the deployment of honorary consuls. In some cases, honorary consulates “in which there are hardly any Swiss interests” continue to operate. It said a particularly sensitive issue is that the foreign ministry doesn’t check the vested interests of “amateur diplomats” systematically enough when appointing them – despite risks in sectors with a high susceptibility to corruption. The CPC is therefore calling for such potential conflicts to be systematically scrutinised in future.
The report reminds us how fragile the international network is. “More than 500 people are said to be involved in criminal cases, scandals or investigations internationally,” writes the NZZ today. Although the report recognises few problems with Swiss honorary consuls, the system remains vulnerable. The CPC is calling for clear criteria and more active risk management. The government is expected to comment on the recommendations in mid-February. We will stay tuned.
Even though the votes of September 28 are long gone, the new Vox analysis now clearly shows that trust, digitalisation attitudes and the social situation shaped the decisions.
E-ID was narrowly accepted with 50.4% in favour. According to the Vox analysis (the most important scientific evaluation of Swiss referendums), trust in the authorities and attitudes towards digitalisation played a key role. Voters on the left were significantly more likely to vote in favour: 72% of voters on the left supported the bill, according to SRF; only 34% on the right did. People under 40 and those with a higher income or education were more likely to vote in favour; older voters and women were more likely to reject the proposal.
Those who saw digitalisation as simplification supported the e-ID by 85%. Those who perceived it as a social problem, on the other hand, were only 15% in favour, according to SRF. Trust in institutions was also a key factor: Respondents with a high level of trust in the government or the data protection commissioner were significantly more likely to say yes.
The Vox analysis explains the clear yes to the abolition of the imputed rental value with the argument of fairness: many voters did not think it was fair to levy taxes on income that was not received. The further to the right the respondents were, the more in favour. Two out of three over 70-year-olds were in favour, whereas those renting were much less likely to say yes.
Twenty years have passed since what was probably the spiciest week in Swiss football history: the “Shame of Istanbul”. The Swiss media look back on November 16, 2005.
Twenty years ago, the national team were attempting to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, held in Germany – a week that, according to RTS, is still considered the wildest in Swiss football history. After a 2-0 win in the first leg in Bern, the Swiss football team and travelling fans were intimidated as soon as they landed in Istanbul – as a Swissinfo colleague who was there told me. “5-0, welcome to hell!” read a sign at the airport, passport controls took forever, and the team bus was pelted with tomatoes and stones.
According to RTS, the second leg was a hurricane of noise and the Swiss anthem could barely be heard. Alex Frei scored for Switzerland after 50 seconds with a penalty, then the suffering began, as RTS looks back on the game today: Turkey pressed, provoked, and took a 3:1 lead – another goal would have destroyed Switzerland’s World Cup dreams. Marco Streller brought the score back to 3:2 shortly before the end for a bit of relief, but a goal from Tuncay turned the final minutes into a thriller. The Swiss managed to hold on and won on the away goals rule – and then ran straight into new danger.
Swiss players were attacked in the tunnel and Stéphane Grichting was seriously injured. He is still suffering from the consequences of this injury today, he told the CH Media newspapers this week. FIFA later imposed lenient penalties on Turkey – and surprisingly banned Swiss players. Despite qualifying, the evening remains traumatic. In 2025 the national team will do everything in its power to avoid another qualifying drama: it can secure its World Cup ticket tomorrow against Sweden in Geneva.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
