Coop and Migros come into the focus of the US Department of Commerce.Image: keystone
April 29, 2026, 11:41 amApril 29, 2026, 12:25 p.m
The Trump administration wants Switzerland to import more products from the USA. This is intended to reduce the trade deficit proclaimed by Donald Trump. A new report now focuses on the Swiss retailers Coop and Migros. Although they are not mentioned by name, it is clear who is meant by this:
“The dominant market position of two large retail chains favors local brands and creates significant obstacles for imported organic products despite agreements on equivalence.”
The US Department of Commerce also criticizes the fact that agriculture in Switzerland is “highly subsidized” and that domestic production has an unfair market advantage over imports from abroad.
Switzerland is unfairly promoting domestic food production, the Trump administration says.Image: KEYSTONE
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) has taken note of the report, but is not commenting on the content, it said at the request of the Tamedia newspapers, which were the first to report on it in this country on Wednesday. Migros and Coop, on the other hand, are pleased with the verdict from the USA: A large part of the food is produced in Switzerland, which is also what customers want.
Moratorium on US genetic engineering
Another section of the report criticizes the Swiss attitude towards agricultural biotechnology. “In particular, Switzerland is adhering to a moratorium on the cultivation of genetically modified plants and on the marketing of products from animal biotechnology,” writes the Ministry of Trade.
At the beginning of the year, initiators submitted the popular initiative “For GMO-free foods” in Bern.Image: keystone
This moratorium has no scientific basis and would therefore unnecessarily hinder trade. Switzerland also has to listen to criticism from the USA on these points:
- Intellectual property protection:
“US copyright holders continue to have concerns that Switzerland continues to be a home to websites that offer illegal content and the services that support it.” - Data protection:
“Swiss law restricts the transfer of personal data abroad, except to certain countries that Switzerland has determined to ensure adequate data protection under Swiss law.” - Free market economy:
“Switzerland is not taking sufficient measures against strategies and practices that are not in line with the market.” - Forced labor:
“Switzerland has no ban on the import of goods that were manufactured using forced or compulsory labor.”
High trade deficit – or not?
The report also provides figures on trading volumes. Accordingly, the trade deficit between Switzerland and the USA in 2025 from the US perspective was 34.3 billion US dollars. This means that it has fallen by a good 10 percent compared to the previous year.
Disturbed by the trade deficit between the USA and Switzerland: Donald Trump.Image: keystone
The Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (BAZG) came to a different conclusion in January. Accordingly, Swiss exports to the USA without gold rose by 3.9 percent to 54.7 billion francs. Imports from the USA, on the other hand, fell by 5.7 percent to 13.3 billion francs. The bottom line is that the trade surplus increased to 41.4 billion francs.
The high trade deficit was US President Trump’s main argument for the high tariffs on Swiss imports imposed last year. Last November, the USA and Switzerland reached an agreement in the tariff dispute, but negotiations on an agreement are still ongoing.
One of Switzerland’s arguments in the customs dispute has always been that things are different for services than for goods. US exports are significantly higher than Swiss imports. This is now confirmed by the latest report from the Ministry of Commerce. There is a US surplus of $32.1 billion. It has therefore increased by a good 8 percent. (leo/awp/sda)