News ticker: Trump 2.0 trade policy - consequences for Switzerland

The EU Council and the EU Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on the implementation of the EU-US Joint Statement agreed on August 21, 2025. In particular, the agreement provides for the elimination of remaining EU tariffs on US industrial goods, tariff quotas or reduced tariffs for selected US agricultural and fishery products and an extended tariff suspension for lobster imports. Safeguard clauses should enable the EU to suspend concessions if the USA does not meet its obligations or EU interests are affected. The agreement must now be formally adopted by the Council and the European Parliament before the new tariff rules can enter into force.

A US trade court has declared President Trump's blanket 10 percent tariff on imports unlawful. The judges reasoned that Section 122 of the Trade Act only applies in the event of a genuine balance of payments problem. However, the government had essentially argued with trade deficits, which was not sufficient. The tariffs will remain in place for most importers for the time being, while the US government is appealing and will probably switch to other tariff bases such as Section 301 of the Trade Act.

US President Trump has given the EU until July 4 to implement its commitments from the 2025 trade agreement - in particular the reduction of tariffs on US industrial goods. Otherwise, it threatens to impose "significantly higher" tariffs on EU goods, including cars. Brussels points to progress, but still sees unfinished business in the legislative process.

US President Trump has announced on Truth Social that he intends to raise tariffs on cars and trucks from the EU from 15 to 25 percent this week. Vehicles manufactured in the USA are exempt. Trump justifies the latest tariff threat by saying that the EU is not implementing the trade agreement with the USA quickly enough. The agreement was concluded between Trump and EU Commission President von der Leyen in Scotland at the end of July 2025, but has not yet gone through all the instances in the EU. Brussels rejects the accusations and has announced that it will keep all options open in order to protect the interests of the EU should the tariff increase actually come into force. So far, it is unclear when the higher levy will apply.

From April 20, 2026, the US Customs Service will introduce a new digital process (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, CAPE) to process refunds of IEEPA duties more quickly and easily. CAPE is a centralized framework within the ACE portal that allows importers of record and customs brokers to electronically submit, validate and process IEEPA drawback claims. Refunds can be bundled and include interest, provided that the imports concerned meet the requirements (e.g. not yet or only recently cleared through customs).

Details on the requirements for refunds and recommended preparation steps for companies can be found at website of Switzerland Global Enterprise.

Exactly one year after "Liberation Day", the US government has announced tariffs of up to 100 percent on certain patent-protected drugs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act that are not produced in the USA. The additional tariffs will come into force in 120 days for certain large pharmaceutical companies and in 180 days for smaller companies. Manufacturers that neither commit to additional investments in the USA nor conclude price agreements with Washington are particularly affected. For countries with existing agreements - including the EU and Switzerland - a reduced rate of 15 percent will apply for the time being. Generics will remain duty-free for at least one year. Companies that relocate production to the US and agree to price rules based on the "most favored nation" principle may be exempt from tariffs altogether.

Parallel to this, Washington is partially relaxing its import tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper: Products with only a low metal content will be exempt, and the calculation will also be simplified. In future, a uniform rate of 25 percent (instead of 50 percent) will be applied to the total value of certain goods instead of just the metal content as before.

A detailed analysis by Global Trade Alert (GTA) of the new US tariff regulations on steel, aluminum, and copper (including a decision tree) can be found here.

In the Joint Statement of November 14, 2025, Switzerland and the USA agreed to conclude negotiations on a binding trade agreement by the end of March 2026 if possible. This deadline has now passed, but negotiations are continuing. Two rounds of negotiations have taken place so far and more are planned.

Since the conclusion of the joint statement in November, there have been various trade policy developments in the USA: On February 24, 2026, US President Trump introduced a new additional tariff of 10 percent, limited to 150 days (until July 24, 2026), based on Section 122 of the Trade Act. The US Supreme Court had previously ruled that the previous US additional tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful and their application must be revoked retroactively to April 2, 2025.

The European Parliament has approved the trade agreement with the US, paving the way for the implementation of last year's deal. The plan is for the EU to remove tariffs on US industrial goods, while the US will limit its tariffs on most EU products to a maximum of 15 percent. However, the agreement is subject to conditions: If Washington does not keep its promises, the EU can suspend the tariff advantages again and take countermeasures. The agreement is limited until the end of March 2028. Negotiations with the Council of the 27 EU member states on the final form will now follow.

The US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer has launched new investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 against several countries. In addition to China, the EU, India and other countries, Switzerland is also the subject of these investigations. In particular, the USTR is examining whether possible structural overcapacity in certain manufacturing sectors in these countries is leading to disadvantages for the US economy. The results of these investigations could serve as the basis for new US additional tariffs.