Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on October 21, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Swiss exports to the US surged by 43% in September, driven by pharmaceutical shipments ahead of potential tariffs. Pharma companies like Roche and Novartis are expanding in the US.
ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss exports to the United States rebounded sharply in September, with pharmaceutical companies ramping up their shipments to get ahead of potential U.S. tariffs, government data showed on Tuesday.
Total nominal Swiss exports to the United States leapt by nearly 43% last month in seasonally adjusted terms compared to the previous month, the figures showed.
Overall, Swiss exports were up 3.4% in September.
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 39% tariffs on Switzerland in August, triggering a sharp drop in Swiss exports to the United States that month. Pharmaceutical companies were, however, exempted from the initial U.S. duties.
In late September, Trump said he would from October 1 impose a 100% tariff on imports of branded or patented pharmaceutical products, unless a pharmaceutical company is building a manufacturing plant in the United States.
Trump has not followed through on the threat as he presses pharma companies to lower U.S. drug prices.
Major Swiss pharma companies such as Roche and Novartis indicated they did not expect those U.S. measures to apply to them because of their expansion plans in the country.
Adjusted for seasonal swings, total Swiss exports of chemical and pharmaceutical products jumped in September by 5.1% in nominal terms compared to the previous month. That category accounts for more than half of all Swiss goods exports.
(Writing by Dave Graham, editing by John Revill)
Export refers to the selling of goods or services produced in one country to another country, contributing to the exporting nation's economy.
Economic growth is an increase in the production of goods and services in an economy over a period of time, typically measured by GDP.
A rebound in exports refers to a significant increase in the volume of goods sold to foreign markets after a period of decline.
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