Competition policy
Competition drives innovation, efficiency and fair pricing – making it a key engine of prosperity and job security. A policy framework that promotes competition is therefore the cornerstone of any long-term economic strategy. The Growth and Competition Policy division is responsible for strengthening and developing the conditions that support effective competition.
Competition law
Competition law sets the rules for safeguarding free and effective competition and preventing anti-competitive conduct. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs is responsible for developing the legal framework for this area, in particular the Cartel Act, the Internal Market Act and the Price Supervision Act.
State and competition
The Confederation and the cantons work to create favourable conditions for the Swiss economy within their respective areas of responsibility, guided by the principle of economic freedom. Any departure from this principle must have a basis in the Federal Constitution or cantonal sovereign rights, serve a public interest and be proportionate. In practice, this means keeping markets as open as possible and avoiding disproportionate regulatory barriers to entry. It also means that state-owned or state-affiliated enterprises must not enjoy undue competitive advantages: all companies, whether state-affiliated or private, should compete on a level playing field.
International
As a result of globalisation and the opening of national markets to foreign enterprises, anti‑competitive practices arising in one jurisdiction and producing cross‑border effects have become increasingly common. Switzerland is committed, at the international level and within the framework of its free trade agreements, to ensuring that trade liberalisation is not undermined by anti‑competitive commercial conduct. In parallel, Switzerland concludes cooperation agreements to enable effective collaboration between competition authorities, and it plays an active role in international organisations—particularly within the OECD and UNCTAD—to support the development of competition law and a competition‑oriented economic policy that fosters consumer welfare and sustainable economic growth.
Press releases
Federal Council adopts the ‘Stabilisation and further development of Swiss–EU relations’ package
13 March 2026
Contact
Economic Policy Directorate
Growth and Competition Policy
Holzikofenweg 36
CH - 3003 Bern