Swiss central bank says tariffs are a ‘major challenge’ as deal with U.S. remains elusive

The Swiss National Bank said Thursday that tariffs on goods to the U.S. present a “major challenge” for exporters, with its economy set to take a hit.

The country has swallowed some of the highest duties imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, with a 39% tariff rate implemented in August. It came after a Swiss delegation led by the country’s President Karin Keller-Sutter failed to secure a trade deal after meeting 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 said in a press conference following the central bank’s latest interest rate decision.

“Against this backdrop, our monetary policy is also supporting economic development.”

The SNB held interest rates at 0% in a widely expected move on Thursday.

Schlegel told CNBC that the tariffs are expected to hit exporters, but that the impact on the economy more broadly should 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 told 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 at the central bank, said in the press conference that the economic outlook for Switzerland had “deteriorated due to significantly higher U.S. tariffs,” which were likely to hit exports and investments.

The machinery and watchmaking industries will be most affected by the levies, according to 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 next year stated at the central bank’s June policy meeting.