Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The customs agreement reached with the United States continues to dominate the news in Switzerland. Today, the media are focusing on the practical aspects of the deal struck with US President Donald Trump.
Our selection of news items also includes the fate of old tyres, the world’s best fondue, and household income.
An agreement has been reached between Bern and Washington on customs duties. Swiss products imported into the United States will be taxed at 15% instead of 39%. While the media welcome the agreement, they are not enthusiastic about it.
La Liberté in Fribourg described the deal as a “Pyrrhic victory”. The same is true of certain foreign media, such as Le Monde in Paris, which believes that Switzerland has signed “a bitter-tasting peace”.
In general, the main feeling is one of relief. The reduction in customs duties will give the Swiss export industry a breather. The 39% rate, one of the highest applied by Washington, was clearly a major handicap for Swiss products. The reduction to 15% means Swiss industry will now be on an equal footing with European industry. It’s certainly not ideal, but it’s progress.
But now that the announcement has been made, the media have taken a closer look at the content of the agreement. And it has to be said that this time it’s a feeling of mistrust that dominates. The Tages-Anzeiger sums up the general feeling well: “the agreement with the United States contains sensitive points that the government is playing down”. The media note in particular that Switzerland will have to recognise US car standards, undertake not to tax US tech giants specifically, import more controversial agricultural products (such as chlorinated chicken) and possibly align itself with US sanctions.
Finally, the media point out that this agreement is not set in stone. For the moment, it is no more than a declaration of intent, and negotiations could still take a long time, given the American demands. And above all, there is the somewhat capricious mood of the occupant of the White House to contend with.
In Switzerland you have to pay a recycling fee of CHF2-5 ($2.50-6.30) for each tyre you dispose of. The aim of this system is to ensure that used tyres are disposed of properly. But this is by no means always the case.
Journalists from Swiss public broadcasters RTS and RSI had the idea of placing tracers on tyres left at garages in French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland, which revealed the existence of illegal trafficking.
Six million used tyres are disposed of every year in Switzerland. Tyres with a tread depth of less than 1.6 millimetres must be destroyed; they cannot be retreaded or exported. Of the 70,000 tonnes of used tyres disposed of each year, 30,000-40,000 tonnes are disposed of in accordance with the law by being burnt in cement works’ high-temperature furnaces. Around 15,000 tonnes are exported legally, but it is not known what happens to the rest.
The journalists placed tracers on 13 waste tyres. The result: five were recycled legally and two were found illegally in Africa. The remaining six tracers stopped transmitting during transport, making it impossible to determine their destination. Nevertheless, the investigation uncovered illegal trafficking in tyres, mainly to Africa.
In Africa, Swiss used tyres are sold for CHF7-20. One of the tyres fitted with a tracer was found mounted on a car travelling in the capital of Togo. In Africa, used tyres can still be used for a maximum of one to two years. They are then often thrown away, causing a major environmental problem.
Abroad, Swiss incomes are often considered high. And the latest figures presented today by the Federal Statistical Office are unlikely to change this view: the average disposable income of Swiss households in 2023 was CHF7,186 ($9,030) per month, virtually unchanged from the previous year.
Disposable income is calculated by adding together all household income (wages, pensions and annuities) and subtracting compulsory expenditure such as taxes. The figures show that household income comes mainly from wages and salaries (73.6%) and pensions and social benefits (20.8%). Income from wealth therefore remains “marginal”, exceeding 4.5% for only one household in seven.
Compulsory expenditure, on the other hand, eats away at just under a third (30.5%) of gross income, or CHF3,154 a month on average. The compulsory expenditure that weighs most heavily on households is tax (12%), social security contributions (10.3%) and health insurance premiums (6.7%). Consumer spending accounted for almost half (48.8%) of gross income, or CHF5,049 on average. Rent and energy, which rose significantly compared with the previous year, represented the largest item of consumer spending.
Once all expenses had been taken into account, an average of CHF1,736 a month (or 16.8% of gross income) remained for savings. All these figures suggest a fairly favourable situation for Swiss households. But the Federal Statistical Office points out that these are only averages. In fact, 61% of households were below this average disposable income. Furthermore, the figures show that expenditure is continuing to rise.
In Switzerland and abroad, fondue is often regarded as the Swiss national dish. This is probably true, if the coverage of the World Fondue Championship is anything to go by.
A large number of Swiss media devoted considerable space to the event, which took place this weekend in the small Vaud village of Tartegnin.
The competition resulted in a double Swiss success. “How could it be otherwise,” notes Swiss public broadcaster SRF. Among the professionals, Benedikt Wüthrich, from the Ecoteaux cheese dairy (Vaud), took the title once again, following his first success in 2017. Among the amateurs, the title went to Frédéric and Lucie Gay, from Thônex (Geneva). The fondues were judged on five criteria: taste, appearance, consistency, homogeneity and overall impression.
The World Fondue Championship is held every two years. The 2025 edition, the fifth of its kind, attracted almost 200 participants, 70% of them amateurs. The competitors came mainly from Switzerland, but France, Canada and Brazil were also represented. The organisers report that media coverage from abroad is “on the increase”. This year, a Dutch television channel and several French channels came to the event.
Translated from French by DeepL/ts
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