The Federal Council initiated the consultation process to amend the Swiss Machinery Ordinance (Maschinenverordnung, MaschV). The amendment seeks to facilitate the unrestricted circulation of goods within the EU in this domain. The European Union is Switzerland’s primary trading partner in the machinery industry. Thus, the Swiss Machinery Ordinance is being adapted to the new European Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, which considers new technologies such as machine learning and robotics. Six categories of machinery, such as vehicle lifting platforms, are now required to undergo a conformity assessment by an independent entity.

The amendment of the Swiss Machinery Ordinance shall guarantee alignment between Swiss law and EU law regarding machinery, facilitating the update of the Agreement on mutual recognition of conformity assessments (MRA) between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union. Thus, the amendment shall ensure a comparable safety standard in Switzerland and the EU regarding machinery and establish a foundation for enhanced access to the EU internal market.

In the machinery sector, the European Union is the primary trading partner for the Swiss machinery industry, surpassing the United States and China, with an export share of approximately 50% according to the Federal Council’s press release. Therefore, the revised Swiss Machinery Ordinance shall enhance the competitiveness of the Swiss machinery sector within the EU.