🔧 Charge More

Washington tariffs, Brussels subsidises, Bern raises prices. One of these is a strategy.

Helvetica newsletter archive of 7 September 2026

A company in Neuchâtel, in French-speaking Switzerland, makes pruning shears. Hand-assembled, sold in 120-plus countries, taxed since last year at 39% at the US border while its German competitor pays the EU's 15%. That is not trade policy, that is a grudge with a customs code. Nobody lobbied, relocated or discounted. They added gold-coated blades and a leather grip and pushed the thing past CHF100. For garden scissors. It works: whoever buys a CHF100 pair of secateurs was never comparing prices, and 9M people on some of the world's highest wages cannot win on cost. Manufacturing is still 19% of Swiss GDP, twice what finance contributes.

Meanwhile the grown-ups do industrial policy. Washington tariffs. Brussels subsidises. Bern, the federal government, joined the arms race in January 2024 by scrapping every industrial import tariff it had, unilaterally, for nothing. (Try that in an American cabinet meeting; you'd be tariffed for suggesting it.) Boringly right: the hundred-odd niche champions booking more than CHF40B a year keep owning whatever vacuum valve or dough-folder they own, and nobody subsidises them. Nobody could. Too many, in too many sectors, for any minister to pick. 26 cantons make industrial policy impossible, the nicest thing anyone has said about it.

Detour. A euro bought CHF1.60 in 2007. It buys about 0.92 this year, and Brussels still wants Switzerland closer to it. That alone hurt Swiss margins more than any US president could dream up, and the factories are still there. Sure, 2025 was ugly: 6,600 tech-industry jobs gone, sales flat, IMD, the Lausanne business school, knocking Switzerland from 1st to 3rd on competitiveness and from 13th to 37th on economic performance, the kind of drop that gets finance ministers sacked. Bernina, the sewing-machine maker, moved production to Thailand after 133 years. Not everything survives. It was never supposed to.

Switzerland is arguing with itself over its own logo. On, the Zurich sneaker company, puts a Swiss cross on shoes made in Asia and says the value lives in the engineering. What exactly is Swiss about the shoe, then? The margin. The federal IP office caved in March and blessed "Swiss Engineering" as a label. Parliamentarians are filing motions to un-cave it. My view: On is a marketing department with a shoe attached, and the Swiss cross is the most valuable thing it does not manufacture. The fight will drag on for years, possibly to a popular vote (almost anything here can end in one), and that slow process is exactly right. Meanwhile 50ml of La Prairie luxury face cream, made in St Gallen, eastern Switzerland, sells for CHF650. Nobody in St Gallen has asked for a tariff.

Have a great week! M. Hantale 🧀

Read the analysis

🇺🇳 Climate. UNEP states that the world will very likely exceed 1.5°C and calls for preparing measures to manage and limit damage linked to sustained overshoot.
🇺🇳 Climate. A study by the ITU warns: the 163 reporting tech companies consumed 494 TWh in 2024 (1.7% of global consumption) and their CO2 emissions are rising sharply, with figures likely being underestimated.
🇨🇭 Economy. Swiss GDP surged by 1.5% in the second quarter, driven primarily by a boost in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry and a rebound in exports (+9.7%), significantly outperforming the eurozone.
🇩🇪 Elections. The AfD triumphs in Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8% of the vote, 39 seats in the Landtag and just 3 seats short of an absolute majority, an unprecedented far-right breakthrough since 1945.

Economy & Finance

🇩🇪 Inflation. German inflation rose to 2.9% in August, up from 2.8% in July, driven mainly by higher energy prices.
🇪🇺 Inflation. Eurozone inflation rises above 3% again: +3.3% in August year-on-year compared with 2.9% in July, driven by surging energy prices (+14.3% year-on-year).
🇵🇱 Growth. Poland attracts its expatriates: for the second consecutive year the migration balance with Germany is positive in favour of Poland and the number of Poles living abroad fell to 1.51M at the end of 2025, down 21K from 2024.
🌍 Growth. Global demand for air transport reached a historic peak for July in that month, up 0.2% compared to July 2025 despite tickets and jet fuel at record levels.
🇺🇸 Employment. Private job creation in the USA slowed to 38K in August (consensus 46.5K), the weakest pace since January, with job losses in manufacturing, professional services and information, and hiring in healthcare, construction and hospitality.
🇬🇧 Rates. The United Kingdom's long-term borrowing costs have climbed to their highest level since 1998, with the 30-year gilt yield reaching 5.89%, complicating the new government's October Budget.
🇺🇸 Rates. Ten-year Treasury yields climb to 4.8%, a high since January 2025 that fuels concerns about a rise in public financing costs and weighs on growth prospects.
🇬🇷 Taxation. The government announces a support and tax relief plan worth €2.2bn for 2027, presented as assistance to households ahead of legislative elections whilst asserting it will preserve budgetary stability.
🇪🇺 Commodities. The price of European gas rises by 6.2% to €74.14/MWh, its highest level since January 2023, following the resumption of strikes linked to tensions between the United States and Iran.
🇬🇧 Investment. The London Stock Exchange will launch tokenised shares to broaden its offering in digital assets, aiming to attract crypto investors and modernise securities trading.
🇳🇴 Investment. The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund proposes reducing the share of government bonds in its bond portfolio from 70% to 50%, representing a reallocation of approximately $592bn in bond assets.
🇨🇳 Investment. Beijing injects 360bn¥ (approximately 54bn$) via the Ministry of Finance into eight state-owned banks and insurers to strengthen their capital and facilitate credit to the real economy.
🇺🇳 Investment. Emerging markets outperformed in 2025 with the MSCI EM at +35% (versus +21% for developed markets) and are showing +24% since the start of 2026, prompting some fund managers to increase their allocations to this asset class very gradually.
🇳🇱 Currencies. The Dutch central bank transferred more than 78 tonnes of gold from New York to London to strengthen its "crisis preparedness" in the face of "geopolitical instability", thereby improving the negotiability of its reserves according to the bank.
🇩🇪 Defaults. Major insolvencies have continued to rise in Germany: 33 cases in the first half (+10% year-on-year) and 94 over the whole of 2025, the highest level since 2015.

Switzerland

🇨🇭 Diplomacy. France refuses to participate in sharing security costs related to the Evian G7, after months of negotiations, leaving Geneva to bear costs estimated at 32MCHF.
🇨🇭 Safety. The recycling industry is raising the alarm over a surge in fires caused by lithium batteries discarded by consumers, endangering sorting sites and their fire suppression systems.
🇨🇭 Employment. Vontobel is relocating its headquarters from Zurich to Baar (ZG) and will consolidate 1,500 employees on a new campus, whilst 300 will remain in the city, the municipality lamented without fearing a mass exodus.
🇨🇭 Solidarity. The Beloved foundation, created following the Crans-Montana fire, has received around seventy requests for assistance and has not yet rejected any application, with already several tens of thousands of francs distributed and an endowment of 24 million Swiss francs.
🇨🇭 Agriculture. Professional fishermen are launching the "Swiss Wild Fish" label to identify and guarantee the origin, traceability and quality of wild fish caught in Swiss lakes.
🇨🇭 Climate. Switzerland is experiencing exceptional days of intense heat in September with peaks exceeding 30°C and a number of hot days this summer three to four times higher than the norm.
🇨🇭 Climate. The canton of Valais has requested authorisation from the Federal Office for the Environment to completely eradicate the wolf packs of Augstbord and the Nanz valley, including pups, following 219 animals killed in 84 attacks during the alpine grazing season, with a decision expected in mid-September.
🇨🇭 Culture. Cave12 in Geneva wins the Leenaards Cultural Prize 2026, an award of 30,000 CHF for its sonic creation project that places listening at the centre of collective experience, and eight grants of 50,000 CHF will also be awarded to emerging artists.
🇨🇭 Culture. Le Chant du Gros will extend its anniversary edition from 2027 to 4 evenings for its 35th anniversary, following an attendance of 43,000 people over three nights this year.
🇨🇭 Culture. The new Saint-Antoine archaeological site in Geneva, excavated beneath the Théodelinde esplanade and covering nearly 1,000m², was inaugurated this weekend and presents two millennia of remains accessible to the public.
🇨🇭 Sport. Switzerland's largest bike park in Romandy opens in Porrentruy: 11,000 m2 of tracks, pumptracks and jump lines created for 1.3m CHF and accessible free of charge from this Saturday.

Elsewhere in the World

🇺🇦 Conflict. Volodymyr Zelensky warns airlines and insurers that "Russian airspace is becoming extremely dangerous" due to the presence of Ukrainian drones for as long as the war continues.
🇬🇧 Defence. The head of Labour's defence committee has called on the Prime Minister to increase military spending immediately to 3% of GDP by 2030 following Argentine threats over the Falkland Islands, citing the need for a firm response.
🇩🇪 Security. Germany deems Russia "responsible" for sending a drone laden with explosives to Leipzig airport in early August and is closing the Russian consulate in Bonn on 18 September and the "Russian House" in Berlin in retaliation.
🇵🇱 Security. The prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into a "crime of a terrorist nature" following a fire at a WB Electronics drone factory in Skarzysko-Kamienna. No injuries were reported, firefighters brought the fire under control within two hours and the ABW has taken charge of the case.
🇷🇸 Security. An Apple alert indicates that 12 members of the Serbian opposition, primarily activist students and amongst them a parliamentarian and a municipal councillor, are believed to have been targeted by the Pegasus spyware.
🇺🇸 Security. A cargo aircraft from San Juan overran the runway at Miami airport, struck several vehicles and killed 5 people with at least 5 injured, paralyzing air traffic during the holiday weekend.
🇪🇺 Diplomacy. Paris and Berlin are calling for strengthening the European External Action Service and improving the coherence of the EU's foreign policy, a subject that is to be debated in mid-October.
🇳🇴 Diplomacy. German start-up Isar Aerospace has placed the Spectrum rocket into orbit from Andøya, marking the first successful orbital launch from continental Europe.
🇩🇰 Immigration. Denmark announces it wants, from 2027 onwards, to transfer the first irregular migrants to "return hubs" located outside the European Union to house persons facing expulsion who cannot be returned to their country of origin.
🇪🇺 Immigration. The flexibility powers of the Entry-Exit System (EES) expire on 6 Sept., which could lengthen queues at borders despite the announcement that several Member States will not apply biometric controls.
🇪🇸 Catastrophes. The Carlos III Institute attributes 5,111 deaths to heat between 1 June and 31 August, a record since the start of records in 2015.
🇧🇴 Catastrophes. Two explosions at a military depot in Viacha kill 2 and injure 81, with broken windows and damaged homes leading to the evacuation of nearby residents.
🇮🇩 Disasters. Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport suspended operations following the detection of Anak Krakatoa ash more than 150 km away, a disruption that began on Sunday at 01:30 and was maintained until 09:30 local time.
🇳🇵 Disasters. The flooding caused by a glacier collapse has killed at least 1,341 people and left nearly 5,000 missing in Nepal, with rescue efforts continuing their search despite extremely difficult conditions.
🇨🇩 Health. The Ebola epidemic in the DRC exceeds 6,000 confirmed cases and 2,900 deaths, a 17th outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus which has spread to six provinces and for which no approved vaccine yet exists.

🇨🇭 Banking. The bank Reyl is changing its name to Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management Switzerland, with Italian Intesa having acquired the firm for 240m CHF in 2021 and renewed management with Riccardo Barbarini.
🇨🇭 Banking. Pictet posts record assets of 810bn CHF in the first half, its net profit climbs to 371m CHF, +12% year-on-year, assets under management up 7% since end-2025.
🇨🇭 Insurance. Swiss Life is to eliminate 600 jobs by the end of 2028, roughly half in Switzerland and the other half mainly at Swiss Life Asset Managers abroad, justifying these reductions by enhanced efficiency linked to digitalisation.
🇨🇭 Transport. Geneva airport generates 3.3bn CHF of added value and supports nearly 22,000 jobs, of which 2bn CHF for the canton and 770m CHF for the rest of Switzerland.
🇨🇭 Stock Exchange. Infomaniak publishes its figures and will prepare its stock market listing around 28/09 via a reverse takeover with Perrot Duval, with the Foundation retaining 63.3% of voting rights and no capital raise planned.
🇺🇸 M&A. Nestlé is divesting its consumer health vitamins and supplements business, including Nature's Bounty, Osteo Bi-Flex and Puritan's Pride, to Yellow Wood Partners for $1bn, proceeds intended to reduce debt and free up resources for potential acquisitions.

SMI Index

Name	Price	Mkt Cap	7d Chg	YTD
Roche	364.20	290.18B	▲ +1.1%	▲ +12.9%
Novartis	129.58	246.29B	▼ -1.1%	▲ +19.4%
Nestlé	78.31	201.43B	▼ -0.2%	▲ +2.5%
ABB	77.76	140.84B	▼ -0.1%	▲ +27.0%
UBS	44.81	137.20B	▲ +1.5%	▲ +17.4%
Zurich Insurance	601.60	89.86B	▲ +0.9%	▲ +0.3%
Swiss Re	142.85	42.13B	▲ +0.9%	▲ +9.8%
Holcim	73.84	40.84B	▲ +2.6%	▼ -5.5%
Lonza	567.20	39.62B	▼ -1.8%	▲ +5.9%
Swisscom	633.50	32.82B	▲ +1.0%	▲ +9.4%
Sika	191.95	30.80B	▲ +1.3%	▲ +17.3%
Givaudan	3,250.00	30.00B	▼ -0.1%	▲ +4.6%
Alcon	57.30	27.70B	▼ -1.7%	▼ -9.8%
Swiss Life	938.40	26.22B	▲ +2.8%	▲ +0.7%
Geberit	563.40	18.23B	▼ -0.5%	▼ -8.5%
SGS	91.02	17.99B	▼ -1.8%	▼ -2.1%
Partners Group	679.00	17.49B	▼ -0.1%	▼ -34.1%
Julius Bär	74.84	15.40B	▲ +0.1%	▲ +13.8%
Straumann	93.94	14.98B	▼ -3.5%	▼ -0.4%
Logitech	82.32	11.79B	▲ +4.0%	▲ +3.6%

📅 Data as of 2026-09-07 07:44

Forex CHF

Pair	Rate	7d Chg	YTD
EUR/CHF	0.94	▼ -0.09%	▲ +1.02%
USD/CHF	0.81	▼ -0.33%	▲ +2.14%
GBP/CHF	1.09	▼ -0.23%	▲ +2.57%

📅 Data as of 2026-09-07 07:44

Taxed for Being Swiss Made

A watch finished in Switzerland now enters the United States at a 12.5% tariff. The same parts, assembled anywhere on American soil, enter at zero. Ming, a small independent brand, designs its watches in Kuala Lumpur, has them built in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Swiss town where watchmaking industrialised, and pays the 12.5%. It could drop the duty tomorrow by assembling somewhere else. It has not.

Two rules of origin apply to the same watch, and they point in opposite directions. Switzerland's federal ordinance, tightened in January 2017, grants the Swiss made label only if 60% of manufacturing costs arise in Switzerland and the movement is Swiss, developed and cased there. American customs ignores all of that and prices the country of final assembly. Since 24 July that means 12.5% on Swiss goods, a rate Washington set after a forced-labour inquiry covering 60 economies. Bern licenses the label to brands that keep the work at home. Washington bills them for it.

The rule written to stop brands hollowing out the label is the rule that triggers the duty. At Rolex prices the sum still works: 12.5% of a customs value that is a fraction of retail is cheap next to what buyers pay for two words on a dial. Below a CHF500 export price it stops working, and that is where the volume has gone.

14.6M watches left Switzerland in 2025, against 29.8M in 2011. Half the units, CHF24.4B in value, an industry that spent 15 years selling nationality rather than volume. One segment sprinted through the first half of 2026: mechanical watches under CHF500, up 23.8%. That is the tier where the label buys least and a movement costs more than the story around it.

Which is the tier Miyota feeds, the Japanese movement maker most independents buy from. Its owner Citizen has doubled its watch division in five years to about CHF1B, announced a Swiss expansion in late August, and owns La Joux-Perret, a movement factory in the same town, plus the Swiss made brands Frederique Constant and Alpina. Miyota cannot fill orders fast enough, while suppliers across the Jura sit on idle capacity and the Swiss industry shed 835 jobs last year. The demand is there. It is not passing through Swiss subcontractors.

Geneva Watch Days ran six days this month: 71 brands, mostly independents nobody outside the trade could name, a growing share of them Asian. Rolex and Patek Philippe stayed away, having their own fair in April. The ones who came need the introductions, and get buyers and suppliers within walking distance. Ming flies in from Kuala Lumpur for the week. Its watches stay in the valley all year, the part that costs 12.5% and the part it will not give up. Washington can tax the address. Bern can license the two words at six o'clock. Neither built the bench they sit on, and neither can move it.

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