According to the German-speaking press, the Federal Council has summoned the President of the Swiss National Bank for a meeting. On the agenda are discussions about the Swiss National Bank’s currency interventions, which the United States views unfavorably.
The ultimatum of March 31 passed without incident. Washington had set this date for Bern to conclude a trade agreement. Meanwhile, the decision of the Supreme Court, which overturned all customs duties imposed since April 2025 by Donald Trump, changed the situation. According to Guy Parmelin, the Minister of the Economy, an agreement is unlikely to be reached quickly.
However, the Federal Council is taking preemptive action in anticipation of Donald Trump’s unpredictability. According to the German-speaking press, Bern wants to discuss with Martin Schlegel, the President of the Swiss National Bank, whose interventions against the strong franc are under scrutiny by the Americans.
Investigations against several countries
After the Supreme Court’s decision, the American president retaliated by implementing several measures, starting with imposing a 10% tariff on the entire world. But he also used “Section 301,” which allows for measures, tariff or otherwise, against a country with unfair trade practices. The U.S. government has initiated investigations to demonstrate these practices against several countries, including Switzerland.
Washington accuses Switzerland of having a high trade surplus, which has been a major point of contention between the two countries for a year. But the United States also suspects Switzerland and the SNB of weakening the franc to make its exports cheaper and favor its companies, which would be currency manipulation. This is a reproach that the United States has made repeatedly, placing the country under surveillance and even accusing it of being a currency manipulator in 2020, like China.
Fight against deflation
The accusation was later retracted by the United States, but the SNB’s interventions are still under scrutiny. The SNB denies manipulating its currency. For them, buying foreign currency to weaken the franc is a monetary policy tool. They aim to maintain price stability. The stronger the franc – it has significantly appreciated against the dollar in recent decades – the cheaper imports become. But what may seem like good news for consumers carries a risk: the continuous decrease in prices can hinder the economy as households stop consuming in anticipation of further price reductions.
Last year, the SNB intervened relatively little: they bought 5.5 billion francs worth of foreign currencies, a relatively low amount compared to some years. For example, in 2015, after removing the floor rate between the franc and the euro, they bought the equivalent of 86 billion francs worth of foreign currencies.
At the beginning of the year, Switzerland found itself under American Treasury surveillance again. But the SNB was not concerned. Martin Schlegel himself stated that the threat of being labeled a manipulator would not prevent them from acting on the franc if the economic situation required it.
Listen to the topic from La Matinale on March 17: The SNB increased its currency purchases in 2025, drawing criticism from the United States / The 12:30 / 1 min. / March 17, 2026
By Mathilde Farine
