Business associations fear stronger protectionism after US election
Published: Wednesday, Nov 6th 2024, 16:20
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The Americans have re-elected Donald Trump as president. This could make trade with the USA more difficult. However, there are also opportunities.
Following the election of Donald Trump, Swiss business associations fear above all that protectionism could increase even further, according to a survey by the news agency AWP. Before the election, for example, Trump called for significantly higher tariffs on imported goods and a strengthening of the domestic market.
The pharmaceutical association Interpharma is critical of the trend towards more protectionism in the USA. It writes that innovation-friendly framework conditions are important for the research-based pharmaceutical industry.
The Association of the Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Industries Scienceindustries is sounding the same note: "It is to be feared that the protectionist trade policy of recent years will be continued," the association said in a statement. These would contradict the interests of export-oriented companies in the sector. This is particularly serious as the USA is one of the most important sales markets for the association's members.
The industry association Swissmem sees protectionism as a problem, but there is hardly any difference between Trump and Harris. "The market distortions that already exist to the detriment of the Swiss export industry will continue," said Swissmem spokesperson Noé Blancpain.
According to Swissmem, Switzerland played its trump cards well during Donald Trump's first term in office. Trump is open to technology. The Swiss economy should also be able to seize its opportunities and build on its strengths during his second term of office.
Economic relations steadily improved
Rahul Sahgal, CEO of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, called for more composure after the election. Economic relations with the US have steadily improved over the past decades, regardless of which party was at the helm. "This will continue to be the case," he said in an interview with AWP.
Jan Atteslander, member of the Executive Board and Head of Foreign Trade at Economiesuisse, agreed with this view. "We do not expect any major change in the trend." Many Swiss companies are very closely anchored in the US market and the change in the White House is unlikely to have a major impact on their business.
Nevertheless, both see the danger of increasing protectionism. However, this would probably also have been similar under a Democratic presidency. According to Sahgal, it is also not yet clear whether Trump will actually be able to implement his pre-election announcements. For generally higher tariffs against all trading partners, Trump would need a majority in both chambers of Congress, which is not yet certain.
Advantages for Switzerland also possible
The election of Trump also offers advantages for Swiss companies, Sahgal emphasized. He assumes that under Trump's presidency, regulations will be scaled back and attempts will be made to reduce taxes, which would also benefit Swiss companies, at least in the short term.
According to Economiesuisse economist Atteslander, the expected tax cuts could also have an impact on Switzerland itself. The USA could become a more attractive location for Swiss companies and investments could increasingly flow to the USA. This could lead to Switzerland also taking measures to improve its own economic framework conditions, Atteslander continued.
According to Atteslander, Switzerland needs a "smart diversification policy" in its foreign trade policy. Switzerland needs to focus on free trade agreements with third countries as well as stabilizing the bilateral agreements with the EU. Switzerland is currently on the right track here.
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