In the first quarter of this year, sales in Switzerland’s tech industry fell by 3% compared to the same period the previous year, while new orders saw only a slight decrease of 0.3%.

The potential imposition of US tariffs on Swiss products, announced by US President Donald Trump, has raised new concerns within Switzerland’s tech and manufacturing sectors.

Indeed, on Tuesday, the industry’s umbrella organisation cautioned that these measures could trigger a significant downturn.

This warning arrives amid the sector’s eighth consecutive quarter of decline, intensifying existing challenges.

During this period, capacity utilisation in the sector fell to 81.1%, significantly below the long-term average of 86%, Swiss Info reports.

In addition, exports increased slightly by 0.7% to CHF 17 billion ($21 billion), mainly driven by a 5.3% rise in shipments to the United States, boosted by the Trump administration’s temporary pause on additional tariffs.

Exports to the European Union experienced modest growth of 0.8%, while shipments to Asia declined sharply by 6.6%. Precision instruments saw strong performance, rising 4.5%, alongside electrotechnical and electronic equipment, which grew by 1.4%. Conversely, exports of machinery dropped by 2.9%, and metals decreased by 1.6%.

“The first-quarter sales figures are disappointing,” according to Swissmem Director Stefan Brupbacher in a statement.

The outlook remains bleak, as the current figures do not yet take into account the effects of the additional 31% US tariffs announced by Trump in early April, which were later reduced to 10% for a 90-day period.

The industry association has warned that if the US tariffs proceed as planned, Switzerland’s tech sector could face significant hardship.

“Policymakers need to act fast,” the association said.

Swissmem is calling on the government to swiftly finalise the free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries without any delays.