Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprüngli is considering making its popular Easter bunnies in the US in an attempt to limit the damage of Donald Trump’s trade war.

The chocolatier – based in Kilchberg near Lake Zurich – is exploring plans to spend as much as $10m (£7.4m) on making its chocolate figurines in the US, in a move that would avert tariffs imposed on European imports.

The chocolates are all currently made by Lindt in Germany, meaning shipments to the US are subject to a 15pc tariff following a EU-US trade deal signed last month.

Lindt owns a manufacturing plant in New Hampshire that is already under expansion.

The US is a critical market for Lindt, worth almost $850m in annual sales according to company filings.

The possible shift comes as the company is already grappling with the soaring cost of cocoa, which has pushed up the price of its goods for customers.

The prospect of Lindt manufacturing more chocolate in the US, first reported by Bloomberg, may prove controversial because of the perception that American-made chocolate is worse than products made in Britain and Europe.

A Lindt & Sprüngli spokesman said: “We are continuously working to make our production and internal supply chains more efficient, taking into account the current situation around tariffs.

“This includes reviewing which products are manufactured at which production sites and for which markets.”

Lindt is also looking at manufacturing chocolate for the Canadian market in Europe instead of Boston in the hopes of avoiding Canadian tariffs imposed on the US, Bloomberg added.

Founded in 1899 following a merger between Swiss chocolatiers Chocolat Sprüngli and Rodolphe Lindt, Lindt is today one of Europe’s best-known chocolate brands. It posted annual sales of 5.5bn Swiss francs (£5bn) in 2024.

It already manufactures its chocolates in many countries across the world – although some of its products, including its Lindor chocolate bars, are only made in Switzerland.

Much of its dark chocolate comes from France, while its nutty chocolate bars are made largely in Italy.

The latest revelations demonstrate the extent to which Mr Trump’s trade war has rocked European companies.

Lindt’s home country of Switzerland has been hit with a particularly high tariff of 39pc owing to its high trade deficit with the US. This has already hammered key Swiss export industries, such as its lucrative luxury watch trade.

The US represents about 17pc of Switzerland’s total watch exports by value, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

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