London, United Kingdom – The Central European nation of Switzerland, famously conflict-averse in modern history, has been left reeling following a recent decision from the U.S. to impose 39% tariffs on Swiss exports.
Since the administration of President Donald Trump announced the measure, Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter has traveled to Washington D.C. and met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seeking to avert the tariffs.
The situation has shaken Switzerland’s political establishment, which has since reassessed its geopolitical proximity to the European Union (EU). Proximity does not, however, mean accession – Swiss membership of the EU remains, according to opinion polls, a political non-starter.
Nevertheless, the prospect of a significantly closer economic and political relationship between the European bloc and Switzerland is becoming an increasingly likely reality given American tariffs.
In June the governing Swiss Federal Council approved the proposed text of a new treaty with the European Union. The proposed treaty includes a package of agreements that would “consolidate, deepen and expand bilateral [Swiss-EU] relations”.
These agreements were negotiated by Switzerland and the EU in December 2024 after over a decade of talks. The deal would improve Swiss access to the EU’s single market and allow Swiss membership of Erasmus, Horizon Europe and Euratom, but would oblige Switzerland “to mirror changes to EU legislation … [pertaining to] the regulation of goods, migration, electricity and transport – or face retaliatory measures”.
The treaty is yet to be ratified in law. It has been sent out for domestic consultation, which will conclude by the end of October, and will then be submitted as a bill to parliament in early 2026.
A referendum on the deal will then likely be held in 2027 given the opposition of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party to the treaty.
The Swiss system of direct democracy stipulates that any law adopted by parliament can be put to referendum if opponents of the law can collect 50,000 signatures supporting a referendum. Supporters of the Swiss People’s Party, given its status as one of the four major parties of Switzerland, will likely collect enough signatures to put the deal to a referendum.
Trump’s tariffs on the Alpine nation, however, are likely to strengthen the Europhile position in the referendum despite right-wing skepticism towards the EU.
Damian Müller, a member of the Swiss Council of States for the Swiss Liberals, claims that the imposition of American tariffs will serve as a wake-up call for the historically non-aligned nation.
“Anyone who believes that one can permanently stay out of geopolitical blocs and negotiate as equals with all as a […] small state will sooner or later be confronted with reality.” Müller told independent German media company Table.Briefings.
Fabian Molina, a Swiss member of the National Council for the Social Democratic Party, stated that support for the approval of the agreement with the EU had received “political momentum” because of the Trump tariffs.
Anti-Trump protestors wearing middle finger hats demonstrate in Basel, Switzerland.
Image Source: Zara Mullane via X
Molina also suggested that the Trump administration’s measures would at the very least strengthen the argument for Swiss accession to the EU: “I think that in the coming years, the accession question will be debated more intensively again,” he said.
However, he clarified that “the tariffs alone will not be enough” to push Switzerland into EU membership given the present unpopularity of that position.
President Keller-Sutter has confirmed that “talks are underway” to negotiate a reduction in U.S. tariffs in return for Swiss concessions. However, the Swiss leader also qualified her government’s intention to negotiate with the Trump administration with a reminder that, although the U.S. “is an important trading partner”, her administration would not seek to mend the trade relationship between the two nations “at any price”.
Switzerland’s evolving alignment with the EU and increasingly turbulent trade relationship with the United States represent a move towards partisanship unprecedented in modern Swiss history. Swiss troops did not participate in either of the two world wars and, unlike most of its neighbours, is not a member of NATO. In fact, Switzerland participates in no military alliances.
Swiss neutrality also extends to politics. Switzerland has never been a member of the EU and only joined the United Nations in 2002 after the Swiss population opted for full membership in a closely-fought referendum.
The country’s geopolitical non-belligerence has allowed it to become a hub of international negotiation and reliable finance. It has also made Switzerland, alongside Iceland, the only European nation able to trade freely with China as it remains unbound by the restrictive diplomacy of international alliances.
Featured Image: Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hold talks in Geneva (May 2025)
Image Credit: United States Mission Geneva via Flickr
License: Creative Commons Licenses
