Swiss Exports to US Plummet in First Month of Trump Tariffs
(Bloomberg) —
Swiss exports to the US plummeted in April, showing the fallout from President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.
Foreign sales, adjusted for seasonal swings, declined 36% from March, the customs office in Bern said in an e-mailed statement. Imports from the world’s biggest economy fell 15%. That resulted in a trade surplus of 4.6 billion francs ($5.6 billion) — the second largest since at least 2010.
The data come after two months of strong export numbers to that country, suggesting frontloading took place by exporters seeking to get goods into US ports in time to avoid the impact of tariffs that Trump had already threatened to impose on April 2.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that Switzerland is “at the front of the queue” for a trade deal. The country initially was hit with 31% tariffs before Trump announced the suspension of many of his global levies to a uniform 10%.
Switzerland’s total trade numbers also saw a drop in exports and imports, bringing its overall surplus to a record 6.3 billion francs.
(Updates with trade surplus in second paragraph.)
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