How pharma became Switzerland’s Achilles heel in US trade talks

The pharmaceutical industry is a major driver of the Swiss economy, but its strength has also made it a key vulnerability for Switzerland in trade talks with the US. President Trump’s announcement last week of a 39% tariff rate on Swiss goods alarmed business leaders and sent politicians scrambling to Washington. The rate is more than double the one negotiated with the European Union (EU), and among the highest globally. One sector breathed a sigh of relief – the pharmaceutical industry, which was exempt. But it didn’t take long before fingers were pointed at the industry. “Switzerland is being held hostage by the pharmaceutical industry,” Georges Korn, CEO of Swiss watchmaker Breitling, told the Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper on August 2. “This affects all export-oriented industries except one: cynically, the pharmaceutical industry, which is responsible for the situation, is exempt from the high tariffs for the time being.” + Swiss government reacts with great regret to new ...