Chart of the week: Switzerland easily shoulders the strong franc

Switzerland's exports are worth over two-thirds of GDP. So when the Swiss central bank gave up holding down the value of the Swiss franc against the euro in January, exports and growth looked set to suffer. Yet according to one think tank, exports should climb by 1.5% in 2015. How?

For starters, says The Economist, the eurozone's share of Swiss exports has declined from 55% to 44% in the past decade, and the franc has risen far less against the pound and the US dollar. Sales to the Middle East have also grown. But the key point is that Switzerland has lots of pricing power in its exports because of its products' high-quality reputation.

There are few substitutes for its watches, banks, pharmaceuticals and ski slopes. This is largely why Swiss exports have tripled in real terms in the past 30 years, even as the trade-weighted franc has climbed by 130%. "The Swiss just learn to get better," as one expatriate puts it.

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