Switzerland - Trade BarriersSwitzerland-Trade-Barriers
Switzerland generally meets its commitments under WTO and bilateral agreements, making it a desirable trade destination for U.S. products and services. Some barriers to trade still remain in a select few areas that present limitations to U.S. market opportunities in Switzerland and of which U.S. businesses should be aware.
Swiss agriculture is highly subsidized and regulated, with price controls, production quotas, import restrictions, and tariffs all supporting domestic production. Imports of nearly all agricultural products, particularly those that compete with Swiss products, are subject to seasonal import duties, quotas, and import licensing. Agricultural products not produced in Switzerland, such as tropical fruit and nuts, tend to have lower tariffs. U.S. agricultural product access to the Swiss market further faces challenges from restrictive private standards and certain government regulations.
Switzerland also has a strict regulatory regime for agricultural biotechnology products. In order for biotech food or animal feed products to be imported and sold on the Swiss market, they must undergo a lengthy approval process. In addition, labeling is required for products containing biotech ingredients or derived from such ingredients. A moratorium on planting biotechnology crops and marketing agricultural biotechnology animals is scheduled to remain in force through the end of 2021.
A continuing obstacle for certain U.S. exporters, particularly those of high value products, is the food retailing system. Two retail giants, Migros and Coop, account for nearly 70% of grocery sales and dominate the Swiss food retail market. U.S. exporters are disadvantaged because the two food chains emphasize their own store brand products and favor products from their own processing plants over international brands. Another barrier for U.S. brands represented by these major retail chains is their policy not to sell foods produced with agricultural biotechnology.
Although Switzerland generally maintains high standards of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement and makes important contributions to promoting such protection and enforcement internationally, Switzerland remained on the 2018 Special 301 Watch List due to the lack of sufficient measures to address online copyright piracy.
In January 2017, the U.S. and Swiss governments concluded the U.S.-Swiss Privacy Shield Framework to provide companies a mechanism to comply with Swiss data protection requirements when transferring personal data from Switzerland to the United States. U.S. companies have been able to submit self-certifications since April 12, 2017. The Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield aligns with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and replaces the previous U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor Framework.
Some Swiss sectors operate under state monopoly, such as rail transportation, postal services, and insurance services, though Switzerland’s growing trend towards liberalization has removed many barriers to competition in automotive, electrical, telecommunications, and postal industries.
Prepared by the International Trade Administration. With its network of more than 100 offices across the United States and in more than 75 markets, the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.
Swiss agriculture is highly subsidized and regulated, with price controls, production quotas, import restrictions, and tariffs all supporting domestic production. Imports of nearly all agricultural products, particularly those that compete with Swiss products, are subject to seasonal import duties, quotas, and import licensing. Agricultural products not produced in Switzerland, such as tropical fruit and nuts, tend to have lower tariffs. U.S. agricultural product access to the Swiss market further faces challenges from restrictive private standards and certain government regulations.
Switzerland also has a strict regulatory regime for agricultural biotechnology products. In order for biotech food or animal feed products to be imported and sold on the Swiss market, they must undergo a lengthy approval process. In addition, labeling is required for products containing biotech ingredients or derived from such ingredients. A moratorium on planting biotechnology crops and marketing agricultural biotechnology animals is scheduled to remain in force through the end of 2021.
A continuing obstacle for certain U.S. exporters, particularly those of high value products, is the food retailing system. Two retail giants, Migros and Coop, account for nearly 70% of grocery sales and dominate the Swiss food retail market. U.S. exporters are disadvantaged because the two food chains emphasize their own store brand products and favor products from their own processing plants over international brands. Another barrier for U.S. brands represented by these major retail chains is their policy not to sell foods produced with agricultural biotechnology.
Although Switzerland generally maintains high standards of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement and makes important contributions to promoting such protection and enforcement internationally, Switzerland remained on the 2018 Special 301 Watch List due to the lack of sufficient measures to address online copyright piracy.
In January 2017, the U.S. and Swiss governments concluded the U.S.-Swiss Privacy Shield Framework to provide companies a mechanism to comply with Swiss data protection requirements when transferring personal data from Switzerland to the United States. U.S. companies have been able to submit self-certifications since April 12, 2017. The Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield aligns with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and replaces the previous U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor Framework.
Some Swiss sectors operate under state monopoly, such as rail transportation, postal services, and insurance services, though Switzerland’s growing trend towards liberalization has removed many barriers to competition in automotive, electrical, telecommunications, and postal industries.
Prepared by the International Trade Administration. With its network of more than 100 offices across the United States and in more than 75 markets, the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.