Switzerland's government on Friday refuted U.S. allegations over forced labor after the Trump administration imposed a new 12.5% tariff on imports of Swiss goods.

"Switzerland rejects the allegations made in the context of these investigations and has presented its arguments during bilateral consultations with the office of the U.S. Trade Representative," it said in a written response to the Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. on Thursday announced new tariffs on 60 economies ranging from 10% to 12.5% that it said were designed to combat forced labor, replacing the 10% temporary global tariffs that expired Friday. The temporary 10% duties were put in place in February after the Supreme Court overturned most of President Trump's prior tariff measures.

The USTR's office said in a statement that the duties were imposed on economies due to their "failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor."

The new 12.5% tariff on Swiss goods is higher than those for the neighboring European Union, putting the Alpine nation at a competitive disadvantage, according to business groups.

"This decision is neither understandable nor justified. It places an additional burden on Swiss companies in the important U.S. market and creates competitive disadvantages compared to countries with lower tariff rates, including the EU and the U.K.," said business sector lobby group Economiesuisse.

"There is no evidence that Swiss supply chains are being used to smuggle goods produced through forced labor into the U.S. market. Forced labor is already prohibited in Switzerland under constitutional, civil, and criminal law," it added.

"President Trump recognizes that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains. The U.S. has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it's well past time for our trading partners to do the same," said Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

"The accusation is absurd," said Jean-Philippe Kohl, deputy director and head of economic policy at Swissmem, an industry trade body. "High-tech products cannot be manufactured using forced labor."

Landlocked Switzerland's economy is highly dependent on exports, including for its luxury watches, pharmaceuticals and high-tech machinery.

New tariffs don't eliminate existing uncertainty surrounding trade between the two countries, even as Switzerland's economy ministry said both the U.S. and Switzerland continued to respect the joint agreement agreed to in November that set a tariff ceiling of 15% on U.S. imports of Swiss goods. Ahead of that deal, Switzerland was subject to a 39% tariff--among the highest for the U.S.'s trade partners.

A continued investigation by the U.S. into alleged industrial overcapacity continues, under the same U.S. law--Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974--that the latest forced-labor allegations were made under.

That makes a legally binding agreement with the U.S. that doesn't place Switzerland at a disadvantage compared with the EU all the more important, said Swissmem.

"It would finally provide Swiss industry with somewhat greater certainty and stability once more in its business dealings with the U.S.," Kohl said.

Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2026 07:02 ET (11:02 GMT)

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