Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

Switzerland and China have concluded negotiations on an upgraded trade agreement that would remove tariffs on almost all Swiss exports to China. Guy Parmelin, Switzerland’s economy minister, and Wang Wentao, his Chinese counterpart, announced the deal on Thursday. Under the revised agreement, 99.8% of current Swiss exports to China would eventually be exempt from customs duties, the Swiss government said. Bern estimates that Swiss exporters could save around CHF 244m a year. Roughly three-quarters of the new tariff exemptions would take effect as soon as the agreement entered into force. Mr Parmelin and Mr Wang signed a memorandum of understanding…

In a poll run for Switzerland’s public broadcaster, more than half of Swiss voters intend to reject a proposal to enshrine perpetual and armed neutrality in the constitution, A separate initiative on food policy remains too close to call. The neutrality initiative, launched by Pro Suisse, would strengthen the constitutional basis of Swiss neutrality. If the vote had taken place in early August, 54% would have rejected it and 42% would have supported it, according to a survey by gfs.bern for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), published on Friday. The second proposal on the ballot, the “For Secure Food”…

With inflation running at just 0.4%, the battle over wages in 2027 may be as much about productivity growth as lost purchasing power. In any case Switzerland’s wage negotiations for 2027 are shaping up to be contentious. Travail.Suisse, a trade-union federation, is demanding an across-the-board pay rise of 2%. The Swiss Employers’ Association, by contrast, reckons an average increase of around 1% would be more realistic. The unions’ demand is an average and varies considerably by industry. In healthcare, Syna, one of Travail.Suisse’s member unions, is calling for increases of 5-6%, arguing that modest wage settlements in recent years have…

A committee of Switzerland’s Council of States wants to introduce an immigration levy on workers from the European Union if migration rises sharply after the Bilateral Agreements III enter into force, reported RTS. Andrea Caroni, a member of the Council of States, says the measure could be used only after the Federal Council had successfully invoked the safeguard clause. Someone who had recently immigrated to Switzerland would then have to pay a fee once a year. Mr Caroni said the levy would amount to at least CHF 4,000 a year. A lower charge would apply to people arriving under family…

Consumer prices declined in July, underscoring how different Switzerland’s inflation story is from much of the world. Over the month the consumer-price index fell by 0.1% from June, leaving prices just 0.4% higher than a year earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Core inflation, which strips out fresh and seasonal products, energy and fuel, was even weaker, at 0.3% year on year. The monthly decline owed much to cheaper travel, fuel and clothes. International air fares fell by 4.3% from June, diesel by 5.8% and petrol by 2.4%. Seasonal sales pushed clothing and footwear prices down by 8.5%,…

Almost 40,000 foreign permanent residents left Switzerland in the first half of 2026, 4.3% more than in the same period last year. According to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), this is part of a broader trend: emigration by foreign residents has been rising since 2023. At the same time, immigration is slowing. In the first six months of 2026, 74,112 foreigners joined Switzerland’s permanent resident population, 2.9% fewer than a year earlier. Net immigration fell by 12.5%, to 29,884. At the end of June, Switzerland was home to 2.43m permanent foreign residents, more than a quarter of the population.…

At parliament’s request, the Federal Council said on Wednesday that, from October 1st, municipalities wishing to lower the limit on main roads will have to show that the change will not divert traffic into residential neighbourhoods, reported RTS. An expert assessment will be required to demonstrate that the lower limit is unlikely to cause undesirable displacement of traffic. The government said the aim was to prevent motorists from abandoning 30km/h main roads for quieter residential streets. It added that the proposal had won broad support during consultation. In addition, priority to traffic from the right will no longer apply on…

With parliament due to debate Switzerland’s package of agreements with the European Union next month, a committee in the upper house has rejected measures intended to protect wages, reported RTS. One has become particularly contentious: stronger safeguards for workers’ representatives against unfair dismissal. Trade unions now warn that they may oppose the agreements altogether. The economic-affairs committee of the Council of States said on Tuesday that it had rejected measure 14, which was intended to protect elected employee representatives within companies. The proposal was defeated by eight votes to four, with one abstention. The committee argued that it was not…

This week, the Federal Council said it opposes the popular initiative “For a sustainable and future-oriented financial centre in Switzerland” and has also rejected the idea of a counter-proposal. reported SRF. The initiative’s backers say it is intended to ensure that the Swiss financial centre no longer contributes to environmental damage and climate change through its activities worldwide. The campaign committee includes representatives of the Socialist Party, the Centre Party, the Free Democratic Party (PLR/FDP), the Greens, the Green Liberal Party and the Evangelical People’s Party, as well as figures from finance and civil society. If approved by voters and…

Many children return to school next week. Switzerland’s sweltering summer has renewed concern over the condition of its schools, many of which are poorly equipped to cope with extreme heat. Meeting in Bern on Thursday, teachers’ unions warned that high temperatures can impair children’s ability to learn, reported RTS. Investing in school buildings means investing in education, said the French-speaking teachers’ union, SER, and its German-speaking counterpart, LCH. After decades of use, they argue, Switzerland’s schools need to be assessed to determine whether they still meet modern needs. Schools are not merely infrastructure. They are educational tools, David Rey, the…