An order for 36 F-35 jets may become a casualty of Donald Trump’s trade war against Switzerland as political opposition to the multibillion-franc defense deal surges in Bern.
The backlash follows the U.S. president’s decision to hit Swiss exports with a 39 percent tariff — the highest levied on any developed country and more than double the rate imposed on the European Union.
The Lockheed Martin F-35s are scheduled to be delivered to the Swiss air force between 2027 and 2030.
Switzerland opted in 2021 for the F-35s over France’s Dassault Rafale, reportedly upsetting French President Emmanuel Macron. Domestically, the 6 billion franc project only squeaked through in a referendum with 50.1 percent support, a razor-thin margin for a major military procurement.
Then came the bad news. Last month, Washington informed Bern that the aircraft could end up costing more than 1 billion francs more than expected. And unlike other fixed-price European deals, the U.S. Foreign Military Sales framework offers no price guarantees.
“The U.S. only guarantees that buyers like Switzerland pay the same conditions as the U.S. military,” Balthasar Glättli, a lawmaker for the Swiss Greens, said in an email to POLITICO. “But those prices can still rise — especially now that imported components into the U.S. are being hit with tariffs.”
Switzerland’s Greens party filed a formal motion in parliament earlier this year to cancel the F-35 order. The motion, submitted by Glättli in March, argues that the United States has become an unreliable security partner and that Switzerland should instead consider a “sovereign alternative” aligned with European partners.
The tariff decision is adding to skepticism about the American fighters.
“The F-35 fighter jets have now become a political issue again,” Hans-Peter Portmann, a liberal lawmaker from the same party as President Karin Keller-Sutter, told Swiss media.
“In the current situation, we cannot simply carry on as if nothing had happened. The question is whether we should pull the ripcord,” he said. “Either we accept a loss and terminate the contract — or we only take delivery of what we have already paid for, stop the next delivery tranches from the U.S. and fill our defense gaps with purchases from Europe. This now needs to be carefully examined.”
So far, the government isn’t changing course. “The Federal Council has repeatedly affirmed that it is sticking with the F-35. If we didn’t do that, we would have no air defense,” Keller-Sutter said.
But the tariffs are shifting thinking.
“The country is in shock,” said Oscar Mazzoleni, political science professor at the University of Lausanne. “For many reasons the Swiss considered themselves a privileged ally of the USA. Like London, Switzerland for example represents the U.S. in Iran at the diplomatic level,” he said.
He added that Trump’s tariff “will produce effects that are currently unpredictable given that in Swiss politics there is an ongoing repositioning away from the USA and a rapprochement with the EU.”
Switzerland isn’t alone in reconsidering F-35s.
Spain just ruled out buying the F-35, confirming it will instead choose between the European-made Eurofighter and the Future Combat Air System, a Franco-German project with Spanish industrial involvement.
Portugal is also getting cold feet over the fighters. After Trump threatened to annex Canada and hit it with tariffs, Ottawa began to rethink its own purchases of F-35s, although a recent defense review found it made sense to continue with the American jets.
In May, the Swiss government formally recommended that parliament reject the Greens’ motion. But Glättli emphasized that it’s still alive. The Greens are pushing for the measure to be put on the agenda for the next parliamentary session running from Sept. 9 to 26.
Asked for comment, Lockheed Martin said: “Foreign military sales are government-to-government transactions, and this matter is best addressed by the U.S. or Swiss government.”
This article has been updated.
The post Swiss lawmakers turn against F-35 deal after Trump’s tariff bombshell appeared first on Politico.
