As of August 2025, the United States has imposed a 39% tariff on Swiss exports — the highest rate applied to any European nation. This sweeping measure affects 17% of all Swiss exports to the US, with medical technology among the hardest-hit sectors.
For Swiss OEMs, especially those in medtech and precision engineering, this presents a serious threat to profitability, competitiveness, and long-term customer relationships.
Here, we explore what this tariff introduction means for Swiss OEMs, the strategic alternatives worth considering, and how ESCATEC offers a smarter way forward.
Despite being one of the US's biggest investors with investments in every US state, Switzerland faces substantial risks from the tariff policy.
If Swiss OEMs continue to ship directly into the US from Switzerland, they risk:
Switzerland is a global leader in medical technology, with over 1,400 companies and 67,500 employees in the sector. Medtech accounts for over 5% of Swiss exports, and many of these products — from surgical tools to diagnostic devices — are shipped to the US.
What makes Swiss medtech unique is its foundation in precision mechanics, a legacy of the country’s world-renowned watchmaking industry. Regions like the Jura have evolved into production hubs where microfabrication, engineering, and medical innovation converge. These ecosystems are so tightly integrated that entire towns function as technology clusters, with suppliers, manufacturers, and innovators working side by side.
It's a very integrated way of working... Measuring equipment, milling tools, cutting liquids. That's why we call it an ecosystem that we have here in Switzerland.
- Gilles Robert, MPS
This level of craftsmanship and collaboration is difficult to replicate elsewhere, making relocation or outsourcing a risky and potentially damaging move for Swiss OEMs.
Faced with these tariffs, Swiss OEMs have a few strategic options:
One strategy is to look for new markets to enter, and Switzerland is actively pursuing other markets, such as India, South America, and China.
However, entering new markets takes time, investment and regulatory adaptation.
At the same time, around 17% of all Swiss exports go to the US; new markets may not offer the same volume or margin potential, and existing US customer relationships may suffer if Swiss OEMs were to retract their market position.
Swiss OEMs could absorb the tariff costs; however, this would drain profitability, which already faces decline, and severely limit reinvestment in innovation and growth - a high priority in the medtech sector, especially.
Many Swiss companies offer the best prices to customers as is, leaving little leeway for discounts, as margins are already as low as they can be. Absorbing the cost of tariffs would strain operational, overhead, and CapEx costs and ultimately inflate prices for customers.
Increasing prices for customers is particularly challenging because Swiss OEMs risk alienating US customers and straining relationships. At the same time, price hikes could trigger a drop in demand and open the door for competitors with more competitive pricing.
Similarly, because healthcare is publicly funded in the US, price increases for medical devices and technology would eventually fall on taxpayers further down the value chain.
Costs for hospitals and healthcare systems in the US in many cases are funded by public reimbursement programmes, and this means taxpayers bear the burden.
- Adrian Hunn, SwissMedTech
ESCATEC offers a fourth — and far more strategic — option to Swiss OEMs: leveraging our global footprint to mitigate tariff exposure while maintaining Swiss-level support.
Swiss OEMs that partner with ESCATEC gain access to our European production sites in the UK, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria, enabling tariff-free or reduced-cost shipping into the US.
They also gain access to our advanced design and manufacturing capabilities, including:
Our proactive, partnership-led approach to collaboration also means we provide end-to-end support across the entire manufacturing lifecycle, from prototyping to full-scale production and post-production improvement.
For Swiss OEMs specifically, we provide dedicated local engagement through ESCATEC Switzerland AG.
One of ESCATEC’s key advantages is our ability to offer flexible production models tailored to the needs of complex OEM products. Many of the devices we build — especially in the medtech and industrial sectors — consist of multiple sub-assemblies, each with varying levels of labour content, material sourcing, and regulatory requirements.
This opens up a powerful opportunity for Swiss OEMs. Instead of shipping fully assembled products from Switzerland and absorbing the full tariff impact, ESCATEC can help strategically relocate parts of the build process to our UK, Czech, or Bulgarian sites, where tariff exposure is significantly lower or non-existent.
Here's how ESCATEC's sub-assembly strategy would be executed for tariff-facing OEMs:
ESCATEC’s engineering teams can also support Design for Manufacturing (DfM) efforts to reconfigure product architecture, making it easier to split production across regions while maintaining quality and compliance.
The 39% tariff is more than a policy change — it’s a wake-up call. Swiss OEMs must act now to protect their margins and maintain their US customer base.
With ESCATEC, you don’t have to choose between cost efficiency and Swiss-level service. You get both.
Let’s talk about how ESCATEC can help you navigate this new landscape and grow confidently in the US market.