Swiss more supportive of EU package due to US tariffs, new survey finds

A survey by the GFS Bern research institute has found that Swiss voters support the new EU-Switzerland package and Bilateral Agreements. The US import tariffs imposed are bringing Switzerland closer to the EU, reports Blick.

Voters support the Swiss-EU package and Bilateral Agreements

The GFS Bern research institute recently surveyed 1.000 eligible Swiss voters. The survey suggests that the majority of people are in favour of closer relations with the EU.

After the US introduced a 39 percent import tariff on Switzerland, the alpine nation and the EU worked to finalise an agreement package known as Bilateral III. The survey found that 61 percent of people definitely or somewhat support the proposed agreements. The deal covers a range of topics, including the free movement of people, trade, transportation and more.

Urs Bieri, author of the GFS Bern study, told Blick: “The developments surrounding the US are apparently reinforcing the favourable assessment of the previous bilateral agreements.” The data supports this, with 64 percent of survey respondents seeing only or mostly advantages in the EU agreement. 

As part of the package, the two countries have proposed agreements on electricity, health and food. 69 percent are in favour or mostly in favour of the electricity agreement, 68 percent for the health agreement and 54 percent the food agreement. The agreements would give Switzerland access to the EU’s electricity market, a food safety early warning system and would help to improve crisis prevention in healthcare.

SVP strongly against EU agreements, other parties are supportive

However, support for the EU package in the survey varies according to which political party respondents support. Respondents who support the Social Democratic Party (SP) were 89 percent in favour of the agreements, Liberal Democrats 84 percent and Greens 82 percent. On the other hand, 68 percent of survey respondents who support the SVP (Swiss People’s Party) were against the package.

Despite the variation in support, the survey shows that Switzerland wants to work more closely with the EU. The Federal Council approved the package agreement earlier this year and is in favour of an optional referendum. A public consultation process is due to end on October 31, and a vote is estimated to take place in 2027 at the earliest.