Switzerland will ‘fight’ for better US tariff deal, but not at any price, president says

BERN, Switzerland: Switzerland will continue talks with the United States, its president said on Thursday (August 7), after President Donald Trump placed crippling import tariffs on Swiss goods, which threaten to inflict serious damage on its export-focused economy.

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A 39% US tariff on Swiss imports began after Swiss officials failed to secure a deal, impacting key exports like watches and cheese.
Swiss President Keller-Sutter's emergency trip to Washington ended without meeting Trump or securing a reduced rate.
The US remains Switzerland's top market for pharmaceuticals, which are currently exempt from the new tariff.

The 39% import levy - among the highest of any applied under Trump's global trade reset - took effect at midnight Washington time (0400 GMT) after an 11th-hour effort by Swiss officials failed to produce a better deal.

The tariffs are set to throttle the small alpine nation's access to the U.S., a leading export market for Swatch, Rolex and Patek Philippe watches as well as high-end cheeses and chocolates.

The U.S. is also the single largest market for Swiss pharmaceuticals, worth $35 billion last year, produced by companies including Roche and Novartis, though those exports are not currently covered under the 39% rate.

"The Federal Council will, of course, continue to strive to improve the customs situation. It will fight for this,” President Karin Keller-Sutter told reporters following an urgent meeting of the seven-member Federal Council - Switzerland's governing cabinet.

Keller-Sutter left Washington on Wednesday without a deal following a hastily organised trip during which she did not meet with Trump or any of his leading trade representatives, according to two sources.

Her proposal for a 10% tariff rate was rejected by U.S. officials, one of the sources added.

Business Minister Guy Parmelin warned that "in the end, you may have the best possible agreement with Department A, with two or three departments. The President of the United States has to approve it and then give his opinion. And then he decides."

Dozens of countries that have failed to strike deals with Washington are facing new tariff rates, which U.S. importers began paying on Thursday.