In Bern, the announcement had the effect of an electroshock: Donald Trump strikes hard by imposing 39 % of customs duties on Swiss products, relegating the Confederation to the rank of economic target. Pretexting an “intolerable” trade deficit, he accuses Switzerland of “stealing” the United States. A frontal attack that upsets Swiss neutrality and plunges the government as the markets in uncertainty. But behind this brutal offensive, an interrogation is essential: how far will the economic war waged by Trump go?
In short
- Trump imposes 39 % taxes in Switzerland: a trade war that shakes Europe.
- Transferred neutrality, shaken markets: Switzerland collects the Trump shock.
- This economic coup de force marks a brutal turning point in transatlantic relationships.
Trump relaunches the trade war and Trinque Switzerland
While his administration has just published a strategic report on the crypto affirming its opening up to innovation, Trump strikes Switzerland from a customs attack, in the name of a 40 billion francs commercial imbalance. A decision that is less part of an economic logic than in a protectionist withdrawal coherent with its nationalist rhetoric: no one is safe.
The Swiss reaction was not long in coming. The Federal Council expresses its “great regret” and tries to obtain a stay before the entry into force of the sanctions, scheduled for August 7.
Meanwhile, Swiss companies wonder: how to absorb a surcharge of such magnitude without losing foot in the American market? This unilateral decision marks a new climbing in the commercial crisis Between Trump and Switzerland, whose stakes far exceed the simple customs dispute.
The first victims of the commercial offensive launched by Trump are not long in coming. On the front line, the watchmaking industry, a national jewel, is about to live a dark year. The 39 % tax imposed by Trump on exports to the United States could sweep up months of post-Cavid recovery.
Machine-tool manufacturers also sound the alarm. Their already fragile margins are likely to collapse under pressure from Trump's economic decisions. Finally, on the stock market, the reaction was immediate. From the opening, the clues plunged by 2 %, a clear sign of the nervousness of the markets.
The economy under tension: the domino effect to be expected
Behind this brutal measure hides a much larger risk. Switzerland, long supported by regular growth and solid exports, sees its economic model wavering.
Several economists are already sounding the alarm. Annual growth could drop from 0.3 % to 0.6 %. A blow for a country also dependent on the international. And if the pharmaceutical industry, still spared, also came to be affected, the contraction could increase up to 0.7 %, even beyond.
What worries the most is uncertainty. With Donald Trump, nothing is ever acquired. A decision can come across a simple whim, a statement is enough to make the markets argue. In this climate of permanent unpredictability, Swiss companies are struggling to anticipate, organize and above all protect their future.
Europe, although it threatens Washington with an economic war, remains surprisingly silent. However, the case goes far beyond the bilateral framework. It raises an essential question: if Switzerland, neutral and conciliatory, can be treated in this way, which will be the next one? The Domino effect could well redesign the rules of international trade in Trump sauce.
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