“March 20 (Reuters) – Switzerland on Friday said it would not issue licences for companies to export weapons to the United States due to the ongoing attacks on Iran, citing the country’s neutrality.
“The export of war materiel to countries involved in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict,” the government said in a statement.”
AthenianVulcan on
If neutrality is to be maintained, Switzerland should not be manufacturing any weaponry at all. All weapons exported will break Switzerland neutrality.
Edit: Above is the Original^
In my haste, made slight mistake in my second line (added bold 2 words for FOR EXPORT), what I meant to say is
If neutrality is to be maintained, Switzerland should not be manufacturing any weaponry at all **FOR EXPORT**. All weapons exported will break Switzerland neutrality.
External_Counter378 on
Tariffs incoming
Chraum on
Switzerland cutting arms exports to the us matters less for raw volume than for the precedent: once a formally neutral state starts treating Washington as an active belligerent under its neutrality law, the war stops looking like a regional strike campaign and starts creating real political and supply-chain costs for America’s partners too.
history repeats itself, switzerland has always been complicit with the enemy
buck70 on
The Swiss position has nothing to do with whether the customer started a conflict or not, since they did the same thing to Ukraine after they were attacked. Which leads one to ask: why would anyone purchase Swiss armaments in the first place?
Stunted-Slime on
As is tradition
marmot9070 on
Is hiding the money of dictators or criminals essential for maintaining a country’s neutrality?
RLewis8888 on
What did they think the US was going to use those weapons for? Maybe use them against themselves (which is seeming more and more like a possibility).
Switzerland as recently as 2023 contributed the _least_ to the US in its arms imports from other countries; half of what the US imports from Israel and less than a _tenth_ of what it gets from the UK.
ExecutivePhoenix on
The U.S. isn’t using Swiss weapons in combat though? All Swiss imports are being used for civilians, collectors etc… nothing associated with the military?
mist_kaefer on
What makes a man neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?
All I know is my gut says “maybe.”
FML_FTL on
Neutrality is just an Illusion imo
omnigear on
USA shot itself in the foot. Part of why we have do many allies is our perceived capabilities to defend and protect them. But this incompetent administration has shown we cant protect sht.
When ukrain started i mentioned how war had changed and like Russia , USA would lose any gorilla war where cheap as drones are involved
plan_with_stan on
Wait, so in peacetimes they can be neutral but when the weapons they supply are being used, they go “NO! We didn’t give you those to blow up shit!”?
3DprintRC on
They export weapons of war and then when the countries go to war they go: “No. Not like that!”
PlumpHughJazz on
> Those who ‘abjure’ violence can do so only because others are committing violence on their behalf.
~ George Orwell
MSTRBASS2000 on
Bwahahahahaha
Curious_Researcher09 on
glad theyre keeping to their values
RTwhyNot on
Why were they selling to us in the first place? We weren’t going to use them against ourselves.
Joshithusiast on
Why the hell does a neutral state make weapons?
DABOSSROSS9 on
Do you guys recall how many Europeans on Reddit stated American weapons can’t be trusted because the US can turn them off? Well Switzerland is actually doing that. Why bothered by a weapons if once they are used in a conflict, the supplier won’t give you anymore. When they sold them to America, what did they think they were going to be used for?
AliceLunar on
Switzerland is always neutral when it benefits them, I don’t blame them but they’re clearly not neutral and pick sides constantly with when they are neutral and about what they are neutral.
Mensketh on
Look, I definitely dont support the Americans’ war in Iran but being an arms manufacturer who refuses to sell arms to anyone involved in a conflict is idiotic.
PeksyTiger on
What is this madness where you sell weapons and expect armies not to use them
b3iAAoLZOH9Y265cujFh on
The article doesn’t really make it clear what the practical consequences of this are going to be. What materiel was previously being exported by Switzerland to the US?
raptorrich on
Is this just the new submachine gun contract? What else does the US import from Switzerland? This feels symbolic more than material.
27 Comments
“March 20 (Reuters) – Switzerland on Friday said it would not issue licences for companies to export weapons to the United States due to the ongoing attacks on Iran, citing the country’s neutrality.
“The export of war materiel to countries involved in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict,” the government said in a statement.”
If neutrality is to be maintained, Switzerland should not be manufacturing any weaponry at all. All weapons exported will break Switzerland neutrality.
Edit: Above is the Original^
In my haste, made slight mistake in my second line (added bold 2 words for FOR EXPORT), what I meant to say is
If neutrality is to be maintained, Switzerland should not be manufacturing any weaponry at all **FOR EXPORT**. All weapons exported will break Switzerland neutrality.
Tariffs incoming
Switzerland cutting arms exports to the us matters less for raw volume than for the precedent: once a formally neutral state starts treating Washington as an active belligerent under its neutrality law, the war stops looking like a regional strike campaign and starts creating real political and supply-chain costs for America’s partners too.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland_during_the_world_wars#Financial_relationships_with_Nazi_Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland_during_the_world_wars#Financial_relationships_with_Nazi_Germany)
>Between 1940 and 1945, the German [Reichsbank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichsbank) sold 1.3 billion francs (approximately 18 billion francs adjusted for inflation to 2019) worth of gold to Swiss banks in exchange for Swiss francs and other foreign currency, which were used to buy strategically important raw materials like [tungsten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten) and oil from neutral countries.[^([37])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland_during_the_world_wars#cite_note-ICE_107-37) Hundreds of millions of francs’ worth of this gold was [monetary gold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard) plundered from the [central banks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bank) of occupied countries. A total of 581,000 francs’ worth of “Melmer” gold taken from [Holocaust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust) victims in eastern Europe was sold to Swiss banks.[^([37])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland_during_the_world_wars#cite_note-ICE_107-37)
history repeats itself, switzerland has always been complicit with the enemy
The Swiss position has nothing to do with whether the customer started a conflict or not, since they did the same thing to Ukraine after they were attacked. Which leads one to ask: why would anyone purchase Swiss armaments in the first place?
As is tradition
Is hiding the money of dictators or criminals essential for maintaining a country’s neutrality?
What did they think the US was going to use those weapons for? Maybe use them against themselves (which is seeming more and more like a possibility).
Rather relevant here:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/248546/us-arms-imports-by-country/
Switzerland as recently as 2023 contributed the _least_ to the US in its arms imports from other countries; half of what the US imports from Israel and less than a _tenth_ of what it gets from the UK.
The U.S. isn’t using Swiss weapons in combat though? All Swiss imports are being used for civilians, collectors etc… nothing associated with the military?
What makes a man neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?
All I know is my gut says “maybe.”
Neutrality is just an Illusion imo
USA shot itself in the foot. Part of why we have do many allies is our perceived capabilities to defend and protect them. But this incompetent administration has shown we cant protect sht.
When ukrain started i mentioned how war had changed and like Russia , USA would lose any gorilla war where cheap as drones are involved
Wait, so in peacetimes they can be neutral but when the weapons they supply are being used, they go “NO! We didn’t give you those to blow up shit!”?
They export weapons of war and then when the countries go to war they go: “No. Not like that!”
> Those who ‘abjure’ violence can do so only because others are committing violence on their behalf.
~ George Orwell
Bwahahahahaha
glad theyre keeping to their values
Why were they selling to us in the first place? We weren’t going to use them against ourselves.
Why the hell does a neutral state make weapons?
Do you guys recall how many Europeans on Reddit stated American weapons can’t be trusted because the US can turn them off? Well Switzerland is actually doing that. Why bothered by a weapons if once they are used in a conflict, the supplier won’t give you anymore. When they sold them to America, what did they think they were going to be used for?
Switzerland is always neutral when it benefits them, I don’t blame them but they’re clearly not neutral and pick sides constantly with when they are neutral and about what they are neutral.
Look, I definitely dont support the Americans’ war in Iran but being an arms manufacturer who refuses to sell arms to anyone involved in a conflict is idiotic.
What is this madness where you sell weapons and expect armies not to use them
The article doesn’t really make it clear what the practical consequences of this are going to be. What materiel was previously being exported by Switzerland to the US?
Is this just the new submachine gun contract? What else does the US import from Switzerland? This feels symbolic more than material.