• Switzerland is a member of the European Union, and any industrial imports within the EU are not subject to import duties. However, there are duties imposed on other materials imported from within the EU, and materials imported from outside the union are subject to import duties. According to the Encyclopedia of Nations, duties on imports are levied by the specific type of product and the weight of the import.
  
  

Specific Import Duties

• Specific import duties are typically low for raw materials, moderate for semi-finished goods and high for manufactured goods. Import duties to most international countries can be calculated using the internationally recognized Harmonized System (HS) number. Most countries share the first six digits of the harmonized number. For most European countries, including Switzerland, this number can be calculated by knowing the specific contents of items being shipped and using the Taxation and Customs Union section on the European Commission website. (See Resource section below.) For example, the first six shared HS numbers for a motor car (new) would be 870324, and the duty rate for Switzerland would be 10 percent.
  
  

U.S. Specific Import Duties

• Import duties in Switzerland for items meant to ship from the U.S. can also be calculated using the Schedule B numbers. (See Resource section below.) The Schedule B numbers are based on the HS numbers and can be calculated for free by knowing the specific contents of the items to be shipped and by using the Schedule B search engine sponsored by the Census Bureau.
  
  

Other Import Taxes

• According to Export.gov, other duties in Switzerland are approximated at 7.6 percent value added tax (VAT) for most industrial products. For other, more basic products, such as food, the import duties are approximated at 2.4 percent VAT.