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The US has agreed to limit import duties on Swiss goods to 15%, down from the current rate of 39%, the Trump administration announced Friday.
The provisional deal is an important concession for the Swiss watch industry, since America was its biggest export market in 2024.
The US will apply either its “most favored nation” tariff rate or a levy of no more than 15% on products originating in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the White House said in a statement.
So far, the US, Switzerland and Lichtenstein agreed only to a “framework” in which they have pledged an intention to negotiate a full agreement. This deal will call for Switzerland to promote investment in the US, buy more of its goods, and reduce its own tariffs on American merchandise.
Talks will begin immediately “with the aim to make significant progress, and if possible conclude the agreement, by the first quarter of 2026,” the statement continued.
Neither party said when the lower tariff rate would go into effect. Reuters quoted Helene Budliger Artieda, director of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, as saying it would like be effective within “days [or] weeks.”
“The announcement of the reduction in additional US tariffs on Swiss imports will serve to stabilize bilateral trade relations,” the Swiss government said in a separate statement on Friday. “Although overall tariffs remain higher than before the additional tariffs were introduced in April, the agreed reduction in additional tariffs is expected to have a positive impact on the Swiss economy.”
Image: Luxury Swiss watches on display at a store in Rome, Italy. (Shutterstock)
