Swiss politicians call for cancellation of F-35 deal with US.

Swiss politicians call for cancellation of F-35 deal with US.

Swiss politicians from various parties are calling on the Swiss government to cancel a planned order for 36 F-35 fighter jets from the United States, according to the Handelsblatt newspaper. The request comes in response to the 39 percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Swiss imports.

Balthasar Geltli, a senior member of the Swiss Green Party, said: “A country that throws stones at us in trade should not receive gifts.”

Cedric Wermuth, co-chairman of the Swiss Social Democratic Party, also said he was calling for another referendum so that the people could block the supplies.

The debate over the purchase of the planes has been raging in left-wing circles for some time now – especially after it emerged in June that the US was demanding a higher price for the jets. Switzerland did not buy the fighter jets directly from their manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, as is common in the US, but through the US government.

Switzerland had initially estimated a maximum of six billion Swiss francs (approximately 6.38 billion euros) for the procurement. Now, additional costs of up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs are on the way. The US justification for the price hike is that no fixed price was negotiated.

The Spanish government also recently postponed its plan to buy US F-35 fighters indefinitely, arguing that its military budget should be invested mainly in Europe.

There are also calls to prioritize European solutions and to critically review existing agreements, especially in light of new US trade barriers and rising prices.

At the same time, the European Union has also decided to prioritize future arms purchases in Europe. The EU plans to invest at least half of its defense budget in European defense companies by 2030 at the latest.

In particular, critics of the Swiss purchase of the F-35 fighter jet argue that the additional costs and increased dependence on the United States are at odds with the decision of the Swiss people and the desired independence in terms of security policy.