The Swiss National Bank (SNB) in Bern, Switzerland, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.
Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Swiss National Bank mentioned Thursday that tariffs on items to the U.S. current a “major challenge” for exporters, with its economic system set to take a success.
The nation has swallowed among the highest duties imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, with a 39% tariff rate applied in August. It got here after a Swiss delegation led by the nation’s President Karin Keller-Sutter did not safe a trade deal after assembly with Trump in Washington D.C.
“The U.S. tariffs present a major challenge for affected companies and are likely to dampen economic activity,” Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel mentioned in a press convention following the central bank’s newest rate of interest choice.
“Against this backdrop, our monetary policy is also supporting economic development.”
The SNB held rates of interest at 0% in a extensively anticipated transfer on Thursday.
Schlegel informed CNBC that the tariffs are anticipated to hit exporters, however that the impression on the economic system extra broadly ought to be muted.
“The exporters that are directly affected, for them this is very challenging, very difficult, but if you look at the economy as a whole, the impact is limited,” he informed CNBC. “We don’t see a recession in the coming quarter so for 2025, we have growth of 1 to 1.5%, in 2026 we still see growth of roughly 1% so we don’t see a recession.”
Petra Schudin, a governing board member on the central bank, mentioned within the press convention that the economic outlook for Switzerland had “deteriorated due to significantly higher U.S. tariffs,” which have been prone to hit exports and investments.
The equipment and watchmaking industries will probably be most affected by the levies, in keeping with Schudin.
“As a result of the tariffs and the high level of uncertainty, we expect growth of just under 1% for 2026,” he added.
It marks a downgrade from the 1%-1.5% growth expectation for subsequent 12 months said on the central bank’s June coverage assembly.