Headlines
Swiss voters backing new EU deal 2-1 after U.S. tariff shock: survey
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 10, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 10, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
A majority of Swiss voters support a new EU deal after U.S. tariffs shock, with 61% in favor. The Swiss People's Party remains opposed.
ZURICH (Reuters) -A clear majority of Swiss voters support a new deal that deepens the country's economic ties with the European Union following the shock and uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs on Switzerland, a survey showed on Wednesday.
Published by newspaper Blick, the survey by polling firm GFS Bern of around 1,000 respondents showed that 61% were either strongly in favour of, or more likely to, back the deal agreed in December.
Some 30% of the eligible voters polled took the opposite view; the rest expressed no preference. The polling was carried out in July and August, chiefly before the full impact of the U.S. tariffs became known, the paper said.
U.S. President Donald Trump on August 7 imposed tariffs of 39% on Switzerland, one of the highest rates worldwide, saying they were justified by the U.S. trade deficit with the country.
The tariffs are far higher than the 15% rate Trump imposed on the EU, and caused dismay among Swiss companies, which have traditionally been well disposed towards the United States.
The survey, which was carried out on behalf of pharmaceutical industry association Interpharma, showed that supporters of nearly all Switzerland's main political parties were clearly leaning towards approving the deal.
The exception were supporters of the right-wing Swiss People's Party, which opposes closer integration with the EU, seeing it as an infringement of Swiss sovereignty and freedoms. Only 17% of its supporters backed the deal, with 68% against.
The EU-Swiss accord, which covers everything from freedom of movement to state aid, alignment of laws and resolution of legal disputes, will likely face its toughest test at the ballot box, with major issues generally put to a referendum.
A referendum on the deal is not expected before 2027.
(Reporting by Dave Graham, Editing by Louise Heavens)
According to a survey by GFS Bern, 61% of Swiss voters support the new EU deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 39% on Switzerland, citing the U.S. trade deficit with the country as justification.
The right-wing Swiss People's Party opposes closer integration with the EU, viewing it as an infringement on Swiss sovereignty.
A referendum on the EU-Swiss accord is not expected before 2027.
The tariffs caused dismay among Swiss companies, which have traditionally maintained a positive relationship with the United States.
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