Switzerland Today
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Economics Minister Guy Parmelin has defended the tariff deal with the US, while scepticism grows in parliament.
The first PFAS studies on food are attracting attention and petrol thefts are on the rise across Switzerland - especially in French-speaking regions.
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Economics Minister Guy Parmelin has been defending the controversial tariff deal with the United States, announced last Friday. .
In an interview with CH Media newspapers, he rejected the accusation that Switzerland had “bought its way out” with investment commitments worth billions of Swiss francs. Meanwhile, scepticism is growing in parliament.
Parmelin said Switzerland had not paid to lower US tariffs on Swiss imports from 39% to 15%. “We didn’t buy anything,” he told the Aargauer Zeitung. The investment plans of Swiss companies in the US had “already been planned” and in some cases “approved”; there was no obligation to actually implement them. The business representatives involved had “acted patriotically” and helped to publicise the problem in Washington.
The declaration of intent between the US and Switzerland is merely an interim step; in the coming months it is due to become a binding agreement – only then can parliament have its say. Swiss public radio SRF reports increasing scepticism among political parties: the left criticises the many unresolved issues, while the right attacks the lack of transparency. The question of future import standards is particularly sensitive. Green parliamentary group leader Aline Trede, for example, warns that Switzerland “must not import chlorinated chickens”.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is now preparing a negotiating mandate for a binding agreement and will conduct these negotiations at a later date. The aim is a trade agreement. The parliamentary committees and the cantons will be involved in the process, SECO maintains. Parliament will discuss the finalised agreement in detail – and an optional referendum remains possible. The voters could then decide in the end.
The first national study on PFAS – so-called forever chemicals – in animal-based foods has turned out better than expected. The vast majority of products are harmless. However, exceedances and signs of regional hotspots show that this will continue to be an issue in Switzerland for some time.
The federal government and cantons analysed almost 1,200 animal-based foods in 2025 – from meat and fish to eggs and dairy products. Only 0.8% of the meat, egg and fish samples exceeded the legal maximum values; three samples of dairy products exceeded the EU guideline values. “The applicable maximum levels are largely complied with,” says Mark Stauber from the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO). Environmental chemist Basil Thalmann speaks of a “valuable overview” for the population and authorities.
Despite the positive results, the data shows local risks: five beef samples, one egg sample and one fish sample were particularly affected – in some cases with very high values. According to the specialised agencies, PFAS primarily enter the food chain via contaminated soil and feed. Evidence from the study supports this: animals that are fed on grass and hay tend to have higher PFAS levels. In the case of eggs, the more produced, the higher the risk.
Alda Breitenmoser, president of the cantonal chemists, told SRF that the “all-clear” had been given. The products are safe overall, but cases such as the ban on the sale of perch and pike from Lake Zug have highlighted local contamination. Her association therefore continues to call for a national action plan. Breitenmoser warns: “The best thing is not to release these substances into the environment in the first place.”
Petrol theft is on the rise throughout Switzerland – especially in canton Vaud. While petrol stations in French-speaking regions are affected on a daily basis in some cases, the situation in German-speaking Switzerland remains quieter, but noticeable.
According to research by 24 heures and Blick, around 70,000 cases of petrol theft are reported a year; in real terms, the figure is likely to be over 100,000. The hotspot is canton Vaud, reports 24 heures: around 10,000 cases a year, especially at the motorway service area in Bursins, where the lack of prepaid refuelling and a lot of transit traffic make it easier to drive away.
Companies are responding with video surveillance and regular reports. The debt collection company, which handles the cases for many brands, estimates that it happens an average of four times a month per station. The repayment rate is high for Swiss offenders, but it is more difficult for drivers from abroad who can quickly abscond.
In German-speaking Switzerland, the figures are significantly lower: operators such as Etzelpark or Coop Pronto speak of few incidents, often caused by misunderstandings at the card terminals. Nevertheless, vigilance is still required – also because of other forms of fraud such as skimming, which has hardly surfaced so far.
Urban and rural areas are drifting further and further apart politically. The Urban-Rural Monitor 2025 shows that large cities are increasingly voting left-progressive, while small municipalities remain conservative.
The gap is “deeper than at any time in the past 45 years”, write the Zurich-based researchers from Sotomo. There were major differences, particularly with regard to the CO2 Act 2021 and the Biodiversity Initiative 2024: cities voted clearly in favour, while the majority of rural municipalities voted against.
The contrast is weaker in French-speaking Switzerland. The rural population there also tends to vote left-progressive. In canton Ticino, on the other hand, towns and villages leaned more to the right, characterised by proximity to Italy, border commuter issues and the rise of the right-wing Lega dei Ticinesi and Swiss People’s Party.
Almost three-quarters of the population have a negative view of population growth – even though the quality of life is particularly high in growing urban centres. “People say that they would prefer to live in the countryside, but they are drawn to urban regions with a higher quality of life,” explains political geographer Michael Hermann.
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