‘We haven’t sold our soul to the devil,’ Swiss defend U.S. trade deal

Switzerland’s fledgling trade deal with the US is causing divisions, with government and business leaders welcoming a “restart” for the country while critics warn it amounts to a sell-out to the White House.

The trade deal announced on Friday saw tariffs on Swiss exports to the US cut from 39% to 15%, and Swiss companies pledged to invest $200 billion in the US, including a promise to increase production in the US.

Switzerland had launched a charm offensive ahead of the agreement. A group of top Swiss CEOs is being sent – luxury goods giants Rolex and richemont – In early November, he went to the USA with gifts, including a gold Rolex watch and a specially engraved gold bar, for US President Donald Trump.

While Switzerland’s lobbying efforts helped it secure a new framework trade agreement with the United States, the agreement came under criticism over the weekend.

The Greens, for example, described the deal as a “surrender agreement” with party leader Lisa Mazzone It is said that “The Swiss economic elite and the Federal Council are bowing to Donald Trump,” and Swiss consumers and farmers will likely pay the price.

The party also questioned the involvement of business executives, saying the government bought the deal “through dubious methods and gifts of gold”.

Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin rejected criticism that the deal amounted to a capitulation to Trump and also defended the use of business leaders to influence the White House.

“We did not sell our soul to the devil,” Parmelin said in an interview with The Guardian. Tagesanzeiger newspaper this weekendHe added that he was “delighted” with the agreement and suggested that it could still be changed and improved.

“I would be proud if we went back to zero percent tariffs. It’s been a long road and it’s the best result we could have achieved. First of all, it gives us a starting point for the next negotiations,” he told the newspaper in comments translated by Google.

Parmelin said business executives traveling to Washington were there only to “explain their positions” and explain how tariffs affect trade. But he also acknowledged that the trip had a positive impact on the negotiations.

“But it’s true: they have influence because they have a lot of good connections in the United States – and not just with the Trump family. Some of them are friends with him because they play golf with him. I don’t play golf, so maybe that’s my handicap – but that’s life,” Parmelin said.

Swiss industry leaders are certainly relieved framework agreement It has been achieved, but its implementation will take time. Question marks remain over some details, such as whether Switzerland will have to accept meat imports from the US, such as chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef, which are controversial in Europe, under the duty-free bilateral tariff quotas agreed in principle.

The framework agreement is also not binding; More talks are planned to finalize the details of the agreement, and it will ultimately require a vote of the Swiss parliament and potentially a referendum to approve the agreement.

The United States was optimistic about the deal on Friday, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer telling CNBC that Switzerland’s $200 billion investment in the US would boost the local economy.

“They’re going to ship a lot of manufacturing products from here to the United States — pharmaceuticals, gold smelting, railroad equipment — so we’re really excited about this deal and what it means for American manufacturing.”

Swiss manufacturers are also relieved by the agreement, according to Stefan Brupbacher, managing director of Swissmem, an association representing the mechanical and electrical engineering industries. He said there has been a 15% decline in exports to the US since August, and machinery exporters have been hit even harder.

“It’s a huge relief for our members, because first of all the drop from 39% to 15% puts us on par with our main competitors in Europe and Japan, and that’s why we’ve suffered so much in the last three months from a 15% to 40% drop in exports to the US,” he told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition.”

“This 15% tariff rate puts us on par with our main competitors and provides a basis for us to start over,” he said.

flash data Announced by the Swiss Ministry of Economy on Monday It showed that the economy shrank by 0.5% in the third quarter of 2025. The ministry said that the contraction was due to “the sharp decline in added value in the chemical and pharmaceutical sector, and the industry recorded negative growth in general.”

UBS economist Alessandro Bee said in his analysis on Monday that despite the framework agreement between the US and Switzerland, UBS’s base case scenario is that the Swiss economy will see GDP growth of around 1% in 2026; He noted that this was “significantly below the average growth of 1.9% over the last 15 years.”

“Growth should be supported by the domestic economy, but we do not expect a significant acceleration from foreign trade,” Bee said, noting that despite the decrease in trade taxes, “tariffs on exports to the United States remain significant and will likely significantly slow down the growth of exports to the United States compared to the previous year.”

Noting that nearly half of Switzerland’s exports to the United States were generated by the pharmaceutical industry, which was never affected by the 39% tariff, Bee said that the relocation of some pharmaceutical production to the United States – flagged by some Swiss pharmaceutical companies – could further negatively impact the economy.

“However, Swiss pharmaceutical companies have indicated that they are ready to shift production for the American market to the United States, and this newly reached agreement is unlikely to change these plans. We expect the relocation of pharmaceutical production to put pressure on Swiss growth in the medium term.”