Swiss rules allow Swiss cross on goods made abroad

Swiss authorities have loosened the rules governing the use of the Swiss cross on industrial products, allowing it on goods made entirely abroad if their research, development or design took place in Switzerland, SRF reports.

The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property introduced the change this spring, citing economic pressure on Swiss companies. A strong franc and geopolitical obstacles such as US tariffs have encouraged firms to move production abroad, while much of the value creating intellectual work remains in Switzerland, the institute said.

The Swiss cross may only be used with additions such as Swiss Engineering or Swiss Research.

The Swiss Trade Association and its director, Urs Furrer, oppose the change. Furrer said it could weaken the meaning of the Swiss cross and create an incentive for companies to relocate production abroad. More than 90 percent of Swiss small and medium sized enterprises have no production facilities abroad and rely on the symbol as an indicator of quality and origin, the association said.

A representative survey published by the association on Tuesday found that 88 percent of eligible voters want the Swiss cross reserved exclusively for products manufactured in Switzerland. Among the surveyed SMEs, 87 percent said the relaxed rules would harm their businesses because they could lose a distinguishing feature compared with imported goods.

Furrer said the findings sent a clear signal to policymakers and argued that the Swiss cross should remain reserved for products made in Switzerland.