Switzerland is where a large part of the world's commodities are traded and financed. Find out how to trade from Switzerland profitably, finance your transactions, stay on the right side of sanctions and compliance rules, and enforce your contracts when a counterparty does not pay.
Geneva, Zug and Lugano are among the leading commodity trading hubs in the world, and Swiss banks finance a large part of that trade. If you trade oil, metals, agricultural products or manufactured goods through Switzerland, you benefit from an experienced banking sector, reliable courts and a legal system that commercial counterparties across the world accept.
Swiss contract law gives traders wide freedom of contract and has been tested by more than a century of case law. The Vienna Sales Convention applies to international sales unless the parties exclude it, and courts and arbitral tribunals in Geneva and Zurich are regularly chosen even where neither party is Swiss.
Sanctions are the greatest risk for a Swiss trader. Switzerland has adopted the EU sanctions against Russia and applies its own embargo ordinances, and breaches are prosecuted under the Embargo Act. US secondary sanctions and the conditions of the banks that finance the trade often reach further than Swiss law itself.
When a counterparty does not pay, Switzerland offers fast remedies. A creditor can start debt enforcement without a prior court judgment, apply for an attachment of the debtor's assets in Switzerland, and enforce foreign judgments under the Lugano Convention and arbitral awards under the New York Convention.
Commodity Trading
Geneva and Zug are among the world's leading commodity hubs, and a large share of the world's oil, grains, metals and minerals is traded by companies based in Switzerland. The articles collected here explain what a trading house does, how the trade is structured and financed, which contracts and securities it relies on, and which rules govern it, from anti-money laundering and sanctions to corporate criminal liability for bribery. They also discuss the figures behind the Swiss commodity sector and the particular questions raised by trade with Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. To the articlesTrade Finance
Trade finance keeps commodities and goods moving between producers, traders and buyers. The articles collected here explain the documentary credit and the doctrine of strict compliance, pre-export and prepayment finance, security over goods afloat and in storage, the assignment of receivables, and the role of the banks in Geneva and Zug that specialise in financing trade. They also look at the cases in which trade finance failed, what lenders learned from the losses of 2020, and how electronic trade documents and tokenised receivables are beginning to change the business. To the articlesSanctions and Export Control
Switzerland adopts most sanctions of the European Union under the Embargo Act and enforces its own export controls on war material and dual-use goods. The articles collected here explain how Switzerland decides on sanctions, how asset freezes, prohibitions on making funds available and trade restrictions work in practice, and how the Goods Control Act and the War Material Act apply to exports and to trade in which the goods never reach Switzerland. They also cover US sanctions and export controls that affect Swiss companies, in particular companies with Chinese, Central Asian or Middle Eastern shareholders. To the articlesAML and Compliance
Switzerland applies strict rules against money laundering, and they reach well beyond the banks. The articles collected here explain the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the offence of money laundering under Article 305bis of the Criminal Code, the reporting duty and the right to report to MROS, the due diligence expected of financial intermediaries and trading houses, and the return of illicit assets. They also cover the revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the new federal transparency register that apply from 1 October 2026, and what they mean for foreign groups with Swiss companies. To the articlesLitigation and Arbitration
Switzerland is one of the world's leading places for resolving international disputes. The articles collected here explain the Swiss courts, including the commercial courts of Zurich and other cantons, international arbitration in Geneva and Zurich under the Swiss Rules and Chapter 12 of the Private International Law Act, the review of awards by the Federal Supreme Court, and the attachment and enforcement of claims against assets located in Switzerland. They also cover investment treaty protection and the particular questions that arise when the counterparty is a state or a state-owned company. To the articles