Switzerland's economy contracted in the third quarter of the year, suffering from high US tariffs which abruptly curtailed exports across the Atlantic, the economy ministry said on Monday.

Swiss gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 0.5 percent between July and September from the previous quarter according to preliminary data, a bigger fall than market analysts had anticipated.

Key economic sectors chemicals and pharmaceuticals saw sharp declines, the ministry said, while the service sector performed below average.

US President Donald Trump stunned Switzerland in August when he slapped an added 39-percent duty on imports of goods from the country, among the highest in his global tariff campaign.

But this now looks to be reversed. The US and Switzerland said on Friday they had reached

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