To obtain the reduced 15% tariff rate, Swiss companies had to promise to invest $200 billion in the US by the end of 2028. Switzerland also had to agree to reduce import tariffs on American industrial goods.
The Alpine nation’s highly protected agricultural sector was not spared either. Tariffs on American fish and other seafood will be reduced under the new arrangement. This is not such a big concession as this sector is not a sensitive one for the landlocked country that imported 825 tonnes of fish and seafood from the US in 2024.
However, meat, deemed a sensitive sector by the Swiss Farmers’ Union, is on the dealmaking table. According to the MoU, Switzerland will grant the US duty-free access for certain meat products. This concession will only apply to a fixed quota every year to ensue Switzerland is not flooded with American meat. American farmers will be allowed to export 500 tonnes of beef (nearly double 2024 imports of 261 tonnes), 1,000 tonnes of bison meat and 1,500 tonnes of poultry to Switzerland duty free.
[…]
It is estimated that anywhere between two-thirds to 90% of American beef cattle raised conventionally are given hormone implants or fed growth regulators at the feedlot. Such meat can be sold in Switzerland provided testing in Switzerland does not reveal any residue of hormones.