The implementation of punitive customs taxes in the United States for Swiss products has prompted the Bernese company Ypsomed to take urgent measures. The manufacturer of injection devices will transfer part of its Swiss production to Germany.
ATS
The group based in Berthoud will therefore transfer “the greatest possible number of orders” intended for the Swiss American market to the German site of Schwerin, explained the director general and liberal national advisor Simon Michel in an interview on Friday on a daily basis, in response to 39% taxes decided by the American president Donald Trump hitting the Swiss goods.
“At the same time, we are trying to repatriate orders, intended for the European Union for example, in the other direction, so as not to have to remove positions” in Switzerland, “he underlines. Mr. Michel notes that the process is not as easy as it seems, since it notably implies the agreement of customers.
The Swiss production exposure to the American market represents 5 to 6% of Ypsomed’s turnover, or 25 million dollars for the remaining eight months of the 2025/26 fiscal year. For the whole accounting year, the amount reached 40 million, specifies Simon Michel. “It is a manageable, but not negligible sum.”
Delayed shipments
The Bernese company will also delay as much as possible shipments to the United States, in the hope that an agreement is quickly reached with the White House tenant.
In the longer term, Ypsomed is focusing on its factory currently under construction in the United States, the only one that will provide the American market in the future. The project, which was to be completed in 2028, was accelerated. The commissioning is now planned for the second half of 2027, said Mr. Michel.
For the next four years, an envelope of 1.5 billion francs will be allocated to the development of Ypsomed infrastructure, “but only a sixth is intended for Switzerland”, regrets the boss, who points to the finger on disappointments in series recorded for ten years, between French-European coupling by the Swiss National Bank, COVID, War in UKRAINE or UDC initiative on Switzerland.
The national councilor, which is also a member of the Policy Commission, is now waiting for the Federal Council to the Federal Council to allow Swiss companies to “survive”, “a little like what was done during the pandemic”. In particular, he cites the lever for partial unemployment, the use of which should be facilitated and prolonged the duration. Simon Michel excludes direct support from the economy, because “we do not know how long the situation will last”.
