Trump tariffs could cost Switzerland CHF17.5bn, economist warns

An escalating tariff dispute under Donald Trump's US administration could cost the Swiss economy up to CHF17.5 billion ($22 billion) in 2026, according to KOF economist Jan-Egbert Sturm. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This would correspond to around CHF2,000 per person in Switzerland (population 8.8 million). This estimate is based on the scenario that Trump sticks to the tariffs he announced in spring. "Uncertainty is poison for the economy," the director of the Economic Research Centre at ETH Zurich told Blick on Monday. "For example, we don't know what will happen on July 9, which tariffs will actually be imposed and how high they will be," he declared. The lack of predictability is slowing down investment, particularly among export-oriented companies that do not know which trade rules will apply to the US market in future. Forecast: 1% higher wages in 2026 On April 2, Trump imposed punitive tariffs on imports from all over the world, including 31% ...