Even more controversial since Donald Trump became US President: the US F-35 fighter jet. Here he takes off from Emmen airfield towards Italy.Image: keystone/chmedia
Donald Trump wants to annex Greenland and says publicly that he will only be stopped by his “own morals”. Politicians now see an urgent need for action by the federal government.
01/12/2026, 05:3701/12/2026, 05:37
Othmar von Matt / ch media
Shortly after his election to the Federal Council on December 10, 2003, Hans-Rudolf Merz (FDP) was called in for a highly confidential, informal conversation. It was Jean-Pierre Roth, then president of the National Bank, who wanted to see the new finance minister. Roth informed him that the National Bank was storing part of its then 2,600 tons of gold reserves in the USA.
A fact that triggered a frenzy five years later, in 2008. UBS came under pressure from US authorities because it had systematically helped American clients evade taxes. Washington later also focused on other Swiss banks. It was about high fines – and banking secrecy was at stake.
Merz remembers those turbulent times well. In a meeting of the Economic Committee of the Federal Council with the Board of Directors of the National Bank, he discussed the gold reserves in the USA. “I pointed out that the USA was putting pressure on the Swiss banks and on banking secrecy,” he told CH Media today.
“I asked: Is it really smart if we have gold reserves in the USA?”
The USA is “a superpower”. They could easily block the reserves.
“I asked: Is it really smart if we have gold reserves in the USA?”: Former Federal Councilor Hans-Rudolf Merz.Image: KEYSTONE
As a result, the National Bank actually withdrew its gold reserves from the USA. Today the bank stores 70 percent of its 1,040 tons of gold in Switzerland, 20 percent in Great Britain and 10 percent in Canada. Then-President Thomas Jordan made this public in 2013. To this day, the National Bank itself remains silent on the question of whether it had gold in the USA.
“I had no indication that the US was considering steps to block the gold. Nevertheless, I saw the danger for our gold,” says Merz.
“The National Bank was cautious and took the right steps.”
Today, the National Bank’s foresight must be praised as a model of good risk management. Under Donald Trump as president, the risk of the USA blocking Swiss gold would have increased exponentially. Trump deliberately uses arbitrary measures and economic blackmail to create pressure. Switzerland had to take note of this on August 1, 2025, when Trump single-handedly imposed a 39 percent punitive tariff. Trump, he just said in the New York Times, can only be stopped in his power by his “own morals”.
This gives Swiss politicians something to think about. “Switzerland and Europe must urgently do something about their dangerous dependence on the USA,” says SP co-president Cédric Wermuth. And the Green National Councilor Gerhard Andrey states:
“We have to align ourselves strategically differently and become more confident. Insecurity and arbitrariness are particularly damaging to a small constitutional state like Switzerland.”
Gerhard Andrey calls for more caution in dealing with the USA.Image: keystone
Urs Vogeli, co-founder of the Swiss Institute for Global Affairs think tank, sees it similarly. “Switzerland and the EU are very lethargic,” he observes. “They believe the spook will be over after three years and want to get through it with as little collateral damage as possible.” But that is deceptive.
“Anyone can be targeted at any time.”
Like China, Trump also uses the principle of probing: He explores how far he can go and creates facts. With China, this process is more long-term, but Trump is deliberately creating chaos.
But where does Switzerland need more sovereignty compared to the USA? Five areas are important.
The F-35 fighter jets
“Denmark relies on F-35 fighter jets from the USA and as a thank you for this, Donald Trump now wants to occupy Danish Greenland,” says SP co-president Wermuth. He emphasizes:
“It is now clear: the F-35 is an irresponsible security risk.”
Denmark has ordered 43 F-35s and 15 fighter jets are in the country. But the question arises: could it even use its F-35 in the event of a US intervention in Greenland? Portugal, for example, is foregoing the F-35. Because it has concerns about whether the US is geopolitically reliable. And because of the rumors about the so-called “kill switch”, a switch-off by remote command.
Green National Councilor Andrey does not assume that there is a “kill switch”. But one should have no illusions about the influence of the USA on its “technological showpiece,” he says:
“By shutting down access to maintenance or mission planning networks, the US can make the F-35 unflyable within a short period of time.”
Andrey wants to limit the damage – with a two-fleet strategy. “To date we have transferred around a billion francs to the USA without anything in return,” he says. “It would be the lesser evil if we used it to buy a significantly reduced number of F-35s and also procure European aircraft.” This also makes technical sense. “The Air Force primarily has to take on air police tasks. The F-35 NATO stealth car is unsuitable for that anyway.” That is his personal attitude, he emphasizes. The Greens as a party are against fighter jets.
Microsoft 365
A church serves as headquarters for the US delegation with Donald Trump during the WEF in Davos. The “USA House” is sponsored by Microsoft and McKinsey. Both companies are making this cost a million dollars each.
Microsoft is looking to get closer to Trump. This gives impetus to those who warn about the delicate dependencies into which Swiss authorities and the public are placing themselves with the use of Microsoft 365.
The central problem is the American Cloud Act. It states that US authorities such as the FBI or CIA are allowed to access data from American companies, regardless of where they come from. There is therefore a risk that the US authorities will read in when sensitive data is processed using Microsoft programs.
The case of Karim Khan, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, shows how quickly this can become a problem. The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Khan over his arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This led to Microsoft suspending Khan’s email account. The Criminal Court is now replacing Microsoft 365 with the German solution Open Desk.
In Switzerland, the outgoing army chief Thomas Süssli has drawn attention to the danger. A lot has happened since then. With the help of the army, the Federal Chancellery is working on an open source alternative to Microsoft 365. “This is an important decision for Switzerland’s digital sovereignty,” says Andrey. Parliament has unanimously approved a proposal that aims to make Switzerland more independent from Microsoft.
AHV funds at US Bank
The AHV pension funds were stored at the Swiss UBS until 2023. Then the responsible federal agency decided to deposit the securities worth around 40 billion francs with the US bank State Street. SVP National Councilor Thomas Matter wanted to reverse the decision. Parliament narrowly rejected his proposal in 2025.
He still doesn’t understand that to this day. “My initiative had nothing to do with the USA,” says Matter. He would also have submitted it if the AHV securities were at a Japanese bank.
«The first pillar is systemically relevant. That’s why these securities belong in a Swiss bank.”
Matter also warns: “The American custodian bank can block these securities in the event of a crisis.”
Thomas Matter wants to keep the Swiss AHV funds in a Swiss bank.Image: keystone
Critical infrastructures
Critical infrastructures are of central importance for Switzerland. That’s why they have to be kept and protected in the country, says SP co-president Wermuth. “We are completely naive in Switzerland.” People are used to China expanding its influence through critical infrastructure.
But now there is the same problem with Donald Trump and his oligarch friends in the USA. “Elon Musk has more money than some countries,” says Wermuth. “He can buy critical infrastructure.” Switzerland must urgently put a stop to this. It’s about many areas, says Wermuth – from dams and hospitals to real estate.
New strategic fields
Urs Vogeli from the think tank Swiss Institute for Global Affairs emphasizes that it is important for Switzerland to consider what trump cards it has. He is thinking, for example, of activities in space travel. Here Switzerland has a trump card that makes it “indispensable”.
SP co-president Wermuth is going in a similar direction. “We have to develop future industries again in order to reduce our dependence,” he says. In the 1990s, Switzerland was a leader in solar energy. But they let it slide. “In the naive belief that the free market would take care of it. China has now overtaken us.” His recipe: his party’s climate fund initiative, which will come before the people on March 8th.
What’s interesting is that, of all people, the liberal Hans-Rudolf Merz, who wanted the Swiss gold reserves withdrawn during the UBS crisis, does not believe it is necessary for Switzerland to realign itself towards the USA. “As long as the US doesn’t bully us, I wouldn’t do it,” he says.
“The 39 percent punitive tariffs were a quick shot by Trump, which he corrected again. And I don’t see that Switzerland would be a particular focus of the Trump administration.”
Merz still thinks one thing is necessary. Perhaps, he says, what is needed is “a redefinition of our external image” in connection with the major powers USA, China and Russia. (aargauerzeitung.ch)