(The Center Square) – Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter is heading to Washington to seek a better trade deal for the Central European nation, which is bracing for job losses.
The trip underscores the impact of President Donald Trump’s efforts to rebalance global trade to favor the U.S. through tariffs.
Swiss media had reported that the nation was in line for a good trade deal with the U.S. When Trump hit the nation’s U.S. exports with a 39% tariff, the Swiss stock market tumbled. The country, a long-time U.S. ally, relies on exports and is home to an array of luxury companies, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and others.
The 39% tariff on Switzerland was higher than the so-called reciprocal tariff rate Trump had announced on April 2, his proclaimed “Liberation Day” for U.S. trade. Most other nations, including the European Union, got far lower rates, but Trump noted Switzerland’s higher goods trade deficit with the U.S.
Keller-Sutter said the U.S. trip was “to facilitate meetings with the US authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation for Switzerland.”
On Monday, the Federal Council in Berne said it would adopt a new approach to talks with the U.S.
“Switzerland enters this new phase ready to present a more attractive offer, taking U.S. concerns into account and seeking to ease the current tariff situation,” the Swiss Federal Department of Finance said.
The FDF noted that starting Aug. 7, almost 60% of Swiss exports to the U.S. would face a 39% tariff, putting Switzerland “at a distinct disadvantage compared with other trading partners with similar economic profiles.”
The European Union faces a 15% tariff after the 27-nation bloc reached a deal with Trump’s trade team just before the Aug. 1 deadline. Trump said the EU will buy $750 billion in energy from the U.S. and agreed to invest $600 billion in the U.S.
The Swiss Federal Department of Finance touted investment in the U.S., noting that “Switzerland is now the sixth-largest foreign investor in the U.S. and the leading investor in research and development.”
Switzerland denied any unfair trade practices, saying it scrapped tariffs on U.S. industrial goods in 2024, meaning most U.S. goods entered tariff-free.
“The Federal Council is not currently considering any countermeasures,” it noted.
Trump has quickly upended global trade through tariffs despite legal challenges at home.
Economists, businesses and some publicly traded companies have warned that tariffs could raise prices on a wide range of U.S. consumer products.
Trump has said he wants to use tariffs to restore manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, shift the tax burden away from U.S. families and pay down the national debt.
A tariff is a tax on imported goods paid by the person or company that imports the goods. The importer can absorb the cost of the tariffs or try to pass the cost on to consumers through higher prices.
