US and Switzerland Finalise Trade Agreement to Reduce Tariffs on Swiss Imports

The United States and Switzerland are on the verge of finalising a trade agreement to lower the 39% tariffs imposed on Swiss imports by former President Donald Trump. This initiative aims to address the trade surplus Switzerland holds with the US. Discussions were held in Washington, where Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Parmelin described the discussions as fruitful, stating, "We clarified virtually everything." Although specific details were not disclosed, he mentioned that further communication would occur once matters are fully resolved. A Swiss insider, preferring anonymity, indicated that a deal was essentially reached.

A senior US official noted that the meeting was "very positive" and could lead to tariff reductions if Trump approves the proposed terms. The official also mentioned that Swiss officials presented a plan to reduce their trade surplus with the US. This includes lowering Swiss tariffs on US products and addressing non-tariff barriers.

In 2024, Switzerland had a $38.3 billion goods trade surplus with the US, according to US Census Bureau data. By July 2025, this figure rose to $55.7 billion due to increased US imports from Switzerland before Trump's tariffs were implemented in April.

The US official highlighted positive announcements from Swiss pharmaceutical companies like Roche investing in the US. "There's a quite focused effort by the Swiss business community to make sure that a lot of the things that create our deficit with Switzerland, that they reshore those here to United States," said the official.

Before Thursday's meeting in Washington, a Swiss source expressed optimism about reaching an agreement to lower tariffs to 15% soon. However, this requires final approval from Trump.

Potential Economic Relief

This week, Trump mentioned working on reducing tariffs on Swiss goods without specifying numbers but expressed intent to assist Switzerland. Hans Gersbach from ETH Zurich's KOF Economic Institute called a reduction to 15% a "ray of hope" for Swiss industries like machinery and watchmaking.

KOF estimates suggest that maintaining a 39% tariff could endanger up to 15,000 full-time jobs in Switzerland. Reducing it to 15% would alleviate such risks and boost economic growth beyond the current forecast of 0.9% for 2026.

Gersbach stated that this change would benefit the entire economy significantly. The potential reduction in tariffs offers relief and stability for various sectors reliant on exports to the US market.