The Swiss arms industry is calling for looser curbs on the resale of its goods as weapons exports fell in 2024 for a second year, fuelling concern the neutral country is falling behind as Europe ramps up defence spending over the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported Tuesday.

"There's a big surge in defence spending in Europe, and Switzerland will miss out. It's a disaster for the industry but also the country's defence capabilities. Instead of working day and night to ramp up production, many companies in Switzerland are letting people go or investing elsewhere,” Matthias Zoller, who is responsible for the armaments sector at industry association Swissmem, said.

Swiss war material exports dropped 5% to CHF 665 million ($754.74 million) from CHF 696.8 million in 2023, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said.