k-flash audio comment"Made in Europe"
k-flash audio comment"Made in Europe"

The case

The longer the more, EU has been focussing on protecting and strengthening its own economy. Despite existing bilateral agreements, this trend puts Switzerland at risk of lagging behind.

Source: NZZ am Sonntag, 01.02.2026, pages 9 – Daniel Friedli – (shortend)

The commentary

Recent developments have highlighted this shift, i.e. Switzerland will not be exempt from planned EU steel tariffs. As of 1 February 2026, Italy will impose higher import taxes on Swiss machinery than it does on goods from EU member states. Swiss companies will also be excluded from EU defense subsidies and will face new export restrictions, including bans on certain waste exports.

These measures follow a political logic: “Buy European”. The EU has been reinforcing its industrial base by means of tariffs, stricter rules of origin and targeted subsidies. Public procurement – worth around CHF 550 billion – is increasingly reserved for EU suppliers, and similar requirements are emerging for key clean technologies, such as batteries, heat pumps as well as solar systems.

“Europe” refers to the EU and the EEA countries, but not to Switzerland, and despite Switzerland’s close economic ties with the EU, it remains excluded from these protections.

Rising protectionism may also have political repercussions. Representatives of the industry have warned that these disadvantages could erode domestic support for the Bilateral Agreements III. At the same time, without such agreements, Swiss access to the EU internal market could become even more limited, putting the country at risk of being entirely excluded from the “Made in Europe” label.

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