Swiss to Vote on Easing Weapon Export Rules in Potential Boost for Arms Industry

(Bloomberg) — Switzerland will vote in November on whether to relax its strict neutrality rules on weapons exports in a referendum that could give a boost to the country’s defense industry.

Swiss lawmakers decided in December to allow arms manufacturers to send weapons to a defined group of 25 mostly Western countries, even if they are involved in an ongoing conflict. That came as a relief for local firms which had lost business to rivals in countries including Germany in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Social Democrats, Greens and a number of other pacifist groups succeeded in collecting more than 50,000 signatures against the change, which under the rules of Swiss direct democracy, triggered a national plebiscite.

The referendum will take place on Nov. 29, the government said on Tuesday. The weapons exports question will be the biggest issue on the ballot which includes three other proposals:

A plan to raise the country’s sales tax that would fund a pension increase which voters had previously backed An initiative to take a different approach to a tax structure that disadvantages double-income couples, which has been dubbed the “wedding penalty” An initiative to ban loud fireworks ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.