Finance
Swiss see risk of tariffs increasing cost of U.S. F-35A jets
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 13, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 13, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Switzerland is committed to buying F-35A jets despite potential cost increases due to U.S. tariffs. Negotiations continue to manage procurement costs.
(Reuters) -Switzerland remains committed to buying Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets from the United States despite an unclear total cost of procurement in part due to the impact of U.S. tariffs, the government said on Wednesday.
The Swiss government reaffirmed its commitment to buying the jets a week after the United States imposed some of its highest tariff rates worldwide on Switzerland due to the size of the U.S. trade deficit with the European country.
The price of the jets would ultimately depend on inflation in the United States, global commodity prices "and other factors such as price increases due to the tariffs imposed by the USA worldwide," the government said in a statement.
Bern chose the F-35A as its next-generation fighter plane in 2021 for what it considered a fixed price of around 6 billion Swiss francs ($7.47 billion) for 36 jets. The U.S. has since said that sum was a misunderstanding.
Talks with the United States to avert the total sum from potentially increasing by $650 million to $1.3 billion showed it was impossible for Switzerland to assert a fixed price, the Swiss government said.
($1 = 0.8028 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi)
Switzerland remains committed to buying Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets from the United States despite uncertainties regarding the total cost.
The cost of the jets may increase due to tariffs imposed by the U.S., which could add between $650 million to $1.3 billion to the total procurement cost.
The final price will depend on U.S. inflation, global commodity prices, and the impact of tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Switzerland.
The Swiss government initially estimated the cost for 36 F-35A jets at around 6 billion Swiss francs, equivalent to approximately $7.47 billion.
Talks with the United States revealed that it was impossible for Switzerland to assert a fixed price due to potential increases caused by various factors, including tariffs.
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