The 39-percent tariff rate was up from a 10 percent “baseline” levy that Trump launched in April on US imports of goods from around the world.
The new, higher tariff rate jeopardises entire sectors of the export-heavy Swiss economy, notably watchmaking and industrial machinery, but also chocolate and cheese.
Swiss businesses worry that competitors in other wealthy economies will have an edge, with the European Union and Japan having negotiated a 15-percent tariff and Britain securing a rate of 10 percent.
Bern has argued that the United States enjoys a significant services trade surplus and that most US industrial goods enter Switzerland tariff-free.
In the second quarter of 2025, Switzerland’s gross domestic product, adjusted for sporting events, increased by 0.1 percent, following growth of 0.7 percent in the first quarter.
Switzerland hosted the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 football championships in July, with total attendances topping 600,000 across the 31 matches.
“After the above-average growth seen in the previous quarter, the anticipated correction has now occurred,” SECO said.