Large majority is against it Swiss want no part of tariff deal with Trump
If it came to a vote on Switzerland's tariff deal with the Trump administration, voters would clearly decide against it. Even SVP voters are sceptical about the deal celebrated by their party, according to a new poll.
03.12.2025, 05:52
03.12.2025, 07:30
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- The customs deal between Switzerland and the USA meets with widespread rejection among the Swiss people.
- This is shown by a new Blick survey.
- 69 percent of respondents were "against" or "rather against" the deal.
- Even SVP voters are skeptical about the deal celebrated by their party.
A possible vote on Switzerland's customs deal with the USA would fail as things stand today, according to a survey. 69 percent of respondents were "against" or "rather against" the deal, according to the survey commissioned by "Blick". Just under a third of Swiss respondents were "somewhat" or "completely" in favor of the customs deal, according to a graphic published by "Blick" on Wednesday.
The opinion research institute Sotomo conducted the survey on behalf of the newspaper at the end of November and interviewed around 9,300 people. In mid-November, Switzerland and the USA signed a joint declaration of intent to reduce US tariffs on most Swiss products from 39 to 15 percent.
Little acceptance for concessions
Swiss concessions in the memorandum of understanding were not well received by the majority of respondents, as another chart shows. The waiver of restrictions on the flow of data to the USA went too far for 80% of respondents.
Promises such as not introducing a digital tax, the duty-free import of limited quantities of meat from the USA, the investment of 200 billion Swiss francs by Swiss companies in the USA and the registration of US pick-up trucks in Switzerland also met with little acceptance. Greater cooperation with the USA on sanctions against third parties faced less opposition. However, according to the survey, 55% of respondents felt that this project also went too far.
Respondents do not expect a permanent tariff reduction
Confidence in the US government is clearly not too high among participants. When asked whether they assume that the US government will permanently reduce tariffs to 15%, supporters on the left were particularly skeptical. As many as 71% of Green Party supporters answered this question with "no" or "rather no".
A majority of center-left supporters also do not expect a permanent reduction, as a graphic published by "Blick" showed. FDP and SVP supporters were more confident: the majority of them answered "yes" or "rather yes" to the question.
Referendum is possible
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin had rejected criticism that Switzerland had made too many concessions for the agreement. So far there has only been a declaration of intent. "Now we have to negotiate," said the Federal Councillor at the end of November on SRF Radio's Saturday show. Switzerland could also demand certain things. For example, it could say that it wants more exemptions from customs duties. This will all be part of future negotiations.
Whether the Swiss electorate will decide on an agreement with the USA remains to be seen. The declaration of intent should first lead to a binding agreement. This was stated by the State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Helene Budliger Artieda, in the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" on Tuesday. Parliament will decide on this after the negotiations. "A referendum will also be possible, which would give the people the final say," said the Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
