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Faced with the increase in customs duties imposed by Donald Trump, each country is trying to negotiate in its own way with the American president. Switzerland seems to have found its method: offering very expensive gifts to the head of state.
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At the White House (Washington, United States), it’s already the magic of Christmas for the Swiss: customs duties imposed by the Americans will drop from 39 to 15%. How did Donald Trump allow himself to be coaxed? Back to a golden agreement.
On November 4, 2025, in the Oval Office, five Swiss business leaders met Donald Trump. Among them, Jean-Frédéric Dufour, CEO of luxury watches Rolex, and Marouane Shakarchi, head of a Swiss gold giant. The gifts displayed on the desk in the following days caught the eye of the American media: a unique, custom-made Rolex desk clock and a personalized one-kilo gold bar estimated at more than $130,000. “This is new, I haven’t seen almost any gifts of this value. And quite often, if we do it, we do it in a rather hidden way.”points out Martin Dahinden, former Swiss ambassador to the USA.
Was Donald Trump allowed to be influenced? In any case, ten days later, the American president lowered customs duties for the Swiss, against 200 billion dollars of investment in the United States. The Swiss government itself admitted it: without the intervention of big bosses, it would not have made Donald Trump bend. “The meeting, I think, of business leaders was certainly decisive. Immediately, the dynamic began. There was an unblocking”, declared Guy Parmelin, vice-president of the Swiss Federal Council, in Bern (Switzerland) on November 14. As for the CEOs received at the White House, no comments. They simply sent the Oeil du 20 Heures team an old press release in which we can read: “We have not taken part in any direct negotiations with the American president.”
On Swiss soil, this gift diplomacy raises questions for an association. “That we offer gifts as if we were a king is an act which, in the symbol it sends to the world, is nevertheless dangerous for democracy and for the integrity of the economy and politics“, estimates Urs Thalmann, president of Transparency International Switzerland.
According to the White House, these gifts are not illegal because they were given to the American people. But according to a Democratic report, during his previous term, Donald Trump forgot to declare and return nearly $250,000 in foreign gifts.