US officials say Swiss ministers have had very positive talks in Washington in a bid to cut US President Donald Trump’s steep 39% tariffs on Swiss exports to the US, the highest in Europe.
One senior US official said the Swiss were very aware of their trade deficit and were prepared to address it, hopefully leading to a meaningful reduction in tariffs.
Swiss economics minister, Guy Parmelin, meanwhile said the two sides had clarified almost everything in the talks.
Switzerland has been trying to bring down the tariff rate which has hit the country hard for months.
Swiss industry chiefs came to the Oval Office on 4 November bearing gifts, including a Rolex gold watch and a specially engraved gold bar from Swiss-based gold refining company MKS.
Initial attempts by Swiss President Karin Keller Sutter to change Trump’s mind fell on deaf ears. However, a private business initiative last week may have made all the difference. Trump’s response to the Swiss president’s bid was that she “was a nice woman, but she did not want to listen”.
But after last week’s private business initiative Trump said a deal was being worked on to bring the tariffs “a little bit lower… I haven’t set any number”.
For Swiss industry, that deal could not come soon enough. Tech exports to the US are down 14.2% on the third quarter of last year, according to latest statistics, a dramatic fall since the tariff hike was imposed in August.
Some figures in Swiss business, particularly those trading in luxury goods, gold, or commodities, already had contacts in Trump’s circle.
In September, Trump appeared at the US Open tennis final in the Rolex VIP box hosted by the Swiss watch company’s chief executive Jean Frédéric Dufour.
