What Switzerland ships to the United States
Of the 300 largest U.S. import headings (four-digit HTS product groups), Switzerland is one of the top 15 suppliers on 69. Those headings were worth $16.7 billion in March–July 2026, 76.6% of all U.S. imports from Switzerland in the period.
The table groups those headings by HS chapter. Goods outside the 300 largest headings, and headings where Switzerland is not among the top 15 origins, count toward the total above but are not in the table.
| HS chapter | Value (March–July 2026) | Share of covered value | Largest headings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Pharmaceutical products · shipping guide | $6.73 billion | 40.3% | 3004 Medicaments consisting ($5.03 billion); 3002 Human blood ($1.70 billion) |
| 71 Pearls, precious stones, precious metals and jewelry · shipping guide | $2.81 billion | 16.8% | 7115 Other articles of precious metal ($1.71 billion); 7108 Gold unwrought or in semimanufactured forms, or in powder form ($766 million); 7113 Articles of jewelry and parts thereof ($180 million); 7106 Silver, unwrought or in semimanufactured forms ($56.9 million) |
| 91 Clocks, watches and parts thereof · shipping guide | $2.45 billion | 14.7% | 9102 Wrist watches, pocket watches and other watches ($1.83 billion); 9101 Wrist watches, pocket watches and other watches ($616 million) |
| 90 Optical, photographic, measuring and medical instruments · shipping guide | $1.63 billion | 9.8% | 9021 Orthopedic appliances, including crutches ($799 million); 9018 Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical ($386 million); 9027 Instruments and apparatus for physical or chemical analysis ($136 million); 9031 Measuring or checking instruments, appliances and machines ($119 million) |
| 84 Machinery, mechanical appliances and computers · shipping guide | $933 million | 5.6% | 8479 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions ($226 million); 8422 Dishwashing machines ($133 million); 8481 Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances, for pipes ($126 million); 8414 Air or vacuum pumps, air or other gas compressors and fans ($94.1 million) |
| 29 Organic chemicals · shipping guide | $644 million | 3.9% | 2933 Heterocyclic compounds with nitrogen hetero-atom only ($253 million); 2930 Organo-sulfur compounds ($206 million); 2934 Nucleic acids and their salts ($70.4 million); 2937 Hormones, prostaglandins, thromboxanes and leukotrienes ($67.8 million) |
| 85 Electrical machinery, electronics and parts · shipping guide | $371 million | 2.2% | 8501 Electric motors and generators ($202 million); 8516 Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion ($42.1 million); 8538 Parts for apparatus of heading 8535, 8536 or 8537 ($35.2 million); 8515 Electric, laser or other light or photon beam, ultrasonic ($32.7 million) |
| 88 Aircraft, spacecraft and parts thereof · shipping guide | $346 million | 2.1% | 8802 Other aircraft ($346 million) |
Each heading code links to its U.S. import market page, showing every origin's share and effective duty rate. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade API, U.S. imports for consumption by HS10 and country of origin, public domain (work of the u.s. federal government); method as in our tariff-rates research.
Container ports in Switzerland
Switzerland is landlocked. Ocean cargo moves by truck or rail to a seaport in a neighboring country and loads there. The route depends on where the factory is and which carrier you use, so ask about it when you request a quote. Air freight leaves directly from Switzerland.
Look up any seaport's UN/LOCODE in the port code finder, or an airport's IATA/ICAO code in the airport code finder.
U.S. import duties on goods from Switzerland
- Base rate (HTS Column 1). Your product's HTS classification sets it; the shipping route does not. Switzerland has no free trade agreement with the United States, so the general rate applies.How FTA claims work.
- Section 301 (forced labor). Switzerland is reported in the 12.5% tier of the Section 301 forced-labor action (in force from 2026-07-24), subject to its general and economy-specific exemption lists. Confirm the exempt tariff lines with your broker before pricing.
- Section 232 (applies whatever the origin). Steel, aluminum and copper pay duty on full customs value in annex tiers of 50%, 25% and 15% since 2026-04-06. Vehicles and parts, lumber and furniture, trucks, semiconductors and drones fall under their own proclamations. Dated entries are on the tariff updates tracker.
- IEEPA and Section 122: no longer in force. The IEEPA tariffs ended on 2026-02-24 after the Supreme Court decision of 2026-02-20, with refunds ordered; the Section 122 surcharge that replaced them expired on 2026-07-24. Neither applies to entries filed now.
- Fees on top of duty. The merchandise processing fee (MPF) and, for ocean cargo, the harbor maintenance fee (HMF).
Estimate the total for your HTS code with Switzerland as origin in the tariff simulator. No code yet? Find it in the HTS code finder. The tariff facts above carry the dates shown on the tracker; confirm with your broker before you price.
U.S. import duty pages for goods from Switzerland
Worked duty pages for the highest-value tariff lines imported from Switzerland: the Column 1 rate, every Chapter 99 line and a $10,000 example.
- Medicaments primarily affecting the central nervous
- Immunological products
- Immunological products
- Airplanes and other aircraft
- Pacemakers for stimulating heart muscles
- Bone plates
Rates are our tariff engine's total for a commercial entry today. Open a page for the duty lines behind a rate and how it changed by entry date, browse all import duty pages, or price your own shipment.
Transit time from Switzerland to the USA
Airlift has not published a planning range from Switzerland to the USA, so this page does not quote one. Ask for the current sailing when you request a quote, or search live sailings for any port pair.
Documents for shipping from Switzerland to the USA
In Switzerland, your forwarder or customs agent files an export declaration with the national customs authority. This page doesn't name the form for Switzerland, so ask us which one applies to your shipment. On the U.S. side, every ocean import needs the same documents, whatever the origin:
- Importer Security Filing (ISF, "10+2"). Required by CBP for cargo arriving by vessel, filed before the container is laden; Airlift files it in-house. Details · glossary · CBP — Importer Security Filing (10+2)
- Customs bond. A continuous or single-entry bond in the importer's name, arranged through the customs broker before the entry is filed. Details
- Commercial invoice. Seller, buyer, terms of sale, a full description and value per line, and the country of origin; the entry is built on it. Details
- Packing list. Marks, package count, weights and dimensions per package, matching the invoice and the bill of lading. · glossary
Airlift's customs clearance service covers document review, HTS classification support, ISF and entry coordination through our licensed broker network at the port of entry. Not enough cargo to fill a container? See LCL ocean freight.
Shipping from Switzerland to the USA: FAQs
In the Census sample for March–July 2026, U.S. imports for consumption from Switzerland totaled $21.8 billion. Among the 300 largest U.S. import headings, the biggest from Switzerland were pharmaceutical products; pearls, precious stones, precious metals and; clocks, watches and parts thereof. The table on this page lists the headings with their values.
Other origin countries
See every origin by region in shipping to the USA by country of origin, or browse Airlift's shipping route guides.
Trade figures: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade API, U.S. imports for consumption by HS10 and country of origin (March–July 2026, data pulled 2026-09-03), public domain (work of the u.s. federal government). Port codes: UNECE UN/LOCODE 2024-2. Tariff facts: the dated entries on the tariff updates tracker and the sources linked above. Reviewed September 2026.
Request a quote: shipping from Switzerland to the USA
Include the pickup city or load port in Switzerland, the U.S. destination and the commodity, plus either the package count with weights and dimensions or the container size and count. Add the cargo-ready date and say whether you need pickup at origin, U.S. delivery or customs clearance. We reply with the freight rate, destination charges and the services included.