Swiss Government Tells Firms: You Can’t Route Goods Via Liechtenstein To Avoid Tariffs

Switzerland and Liechtenstein have long shared a common economic market, but President Donald Trump has imposed steep tariffs on Swiss goods compared with those from its Liechtensteiner neighbor, Sasha Rogelberg reported for Fortune.

U.S. tariffs on Swiss exports swelled to 39% in Trump’s latest round, while goods from Liechtenstein face just 15%.

The Swiss government has clarified that businesses cannot reroute their products through the principality to evade tariffs.

The Trump administration has implemented a 40% tariff on transshipments—the practice of moving goods through an intermediate destination with lower levies—to disincentivize the maneuver.

“Such circumvention via Liechtenstein is fundamentally impossible. The U.S. applies its non-preferential rules of origin when levying additional tariffs,” a Swiss government spokesperson told Fortune.

“For a product to be considered ‘Liechtenstein origin,’ it must either be manufactured in Liechtenstein or undergo sufficient processing.”

Switzerland and Liechtenstein have shared a customs treaty for 102 years, allowing the 25 km-long principality to be part of the Swiss economic area. But that agreement does not mean the countries are tariffed the same way.

U.S. tariffs on Swiss exports swelled to 39% in Trump’s latest round, while goods from Liechtenstein face just 15%.

The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has said firms cannot disguise goods as Liechtensteiner by rerouting them, as they would still be classified as Swiss in origin.

Liechtenstein's head of government, Brigitte Haas, acknowledged concerns—though unlikely—about Swiss companies seeking loopholes.

“There’s a fear that there might be some circumvention, but those are subject to a 40% tariff,” Haas said in an interview with Swiss outlet SRF. “I hardly think anyone would want to go through that.”