ZURICH, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The lowering of U.S. tariffs on Switzerland to 15% from 39% will be effective retroactively from November 14, the Swiss government said on Wednesday, delivering relief to businesses that had been saddled with the highest U.S. duties in Europe.
On November 14, the United States and Switzerland sealed a preliminary agreement under which Washington would cut the tariffs on Swiss goods, while Swiss companies pledged to invest $200 billion in the U.S. by the end of 2028.
In a
statement, the Swiss Economy Ministry said that with the U.S. tariff ceiling now at 15%, trade-weighted U.S. tariffs on Switzerland will fall by around 10% on average, improving access to the U.S. market for Swiss firms.
"The competitiveness of Swiss companies will also be strengthened, as they will once again enjoy similar conditions on the U.S. market as companies from the EU or other U.S. trading partners with a similar economic structure," it said.
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed the duties on Switzerland in August, saying they were justified by the United States' trade deficit with the Alpine country.
The tariffs were the highest the Trump administration put on any European country, and stunned the Swiss business community.
Swiss companies have welcomed the tariff reduction, which puts them on a level playing field with EU competitors.
Many businesses have held back on sending goods while they waited for lower tariffs to come into force.
Swiss army knife manufacturer Victorinox said it was relieved about tariff reductions for its biggest export market.
"This step creates a significantly more manageable framework for our exports to the United States," said CEO Carl Elsener.
The lower tariffs would boost Swiss economic growth by 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points next year, said Hans Gersbach, an economist at the KOF Institute at ETH in Zurich.
(Reporting by John Revill and Dave Graham, editing by Thomas Seythal)
