Upholding Neutrality, Switzerland Blocks Arms Exports to the United States

The Swiss government has officially suspended all new export permits for arms and ammunition to the United States (US). This drastic step is taken as a commitment to Switzerland’s tradition of neutrality amid the raging war in the Middle East involving the US and Iran.

“Exports of war material to the US are currently not permitted,” stated the official Swiss government announcement on Friday (20/3). Bern emphasised that since the escalation of the conflict intensified on 28 February, it has frozen the issuance of new export licences to the “Land of Uncle Sam”.

This policy is a continuation of Switzerland’s firm actions, which previously included closing its airspace to US military flights directly related to the Iran war. Bern stated that any American flights exceeding normal frequency will be rejected unless their purpose is proven unrelated to the conflict.

Economically, this decision significantly impacts the domestic defence industry. The US was Switzerland’s second-largest arms importer last year, contributing around 10% of total exports worth 94.2 million francs (US$119 million). The main commodities supplied include unmanned aerial vehicles, ammunition, and small arms.

Although existing export permits remain in effect as they are not deemed relevant to the current battlefield, a cross-departmental expert group will continue to monitor developments. This rigid stance has previously been applied by Switzerland to Israel.

This principle of neutrality often poses challenges for local arms producers. Previously, Switzerland also blocked the shipment of its military equipment to Ukraine via allied countries. This has raised concerns among Swiss defence companies about being excluded from the European supply chain, leading some to relocate production facilities abroad to avoid the strict regulations.

Parliament’s efforts to soften arms export laws in December—which initially aimed to allow exports to 25 Western countries even during conflicts—remain stalled. Under Switzerland’s direct democracy system, the draft could still be overturned via referendum if sufficient signatures of objection from citizens are collected by mid-April.