Zurich (AFP) – Swiss business leaders have met US President Donald Trump to draw his attention to the toll that steep tariffs are taking on their companies, Switzerland’s government said Wednesday. Trump shocked Switzerland in August when he announced 39-percent duties on imports of goods from the country, among the highest in his global tariff blitz.
Since then, the wealthy Alpine nation has been striving to negotiate a better tariff deal, even as it has slashed its 2026 growth forecast as the tariffs weigh on its export-driven economy. On Tuesday, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he had just met with “high level Representatives of Switzerland” and had discussed “many subjects including, and most importantly, Trade and Trade Imbalance.”
“The meeting was adjourned with the understanding that our Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, will discuss the subjects further with Switzerland’s Leaders,” he said. Switzerland’s government, known as the Federal Council, told AFP the meeting had come about through “a private initiative.” It had “been informed that several Swiss business leaders requested and obtained a meeting with US President Donald Trump,” it added in a statement.
“They wished to draw the US President’s attention to the impact that the additional 39-percent tariffs are having on their companies,” it said. While the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) had helped prepare the meeting, it was “independent of the Federal Council’s involvement,” it added. The government declined to list which business leaders had been involved in the meeting.
It hailed their initiative, but stressed that “the Federal Council is, in principle, responsible for and in charge of negotiations with the relevant US authorities.” Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin, it said, “is in regular contact with the relevant US authorities,” including Greer. The government insisted that it “remains firmly committed to improving the customs situation with the United States.”
© 2024 AFP
