On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump received a delegation of Swiss entrepreneurs at the White House to discuss “trade and trade imbalance”. “It was a great honor for me to meet high-level representatives of Switzerland,” the president wrote about the meeting without giving further details.
This Thursday, it was the turn of the American Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, to make statements on the progress of the negotiations with Berne. Asked on Fox Business about “other deals that still need to be done” after the one with China, Jamieson Greer said: “You may have seen earlier this week the president sent a message on Truth Social mentioning the progress being made with Switzerland, on a deal with Switzerland.”
“We met [des représentants suisses] this week and we have been in discussions for several weeks,” he continued. In his eyes, what is interesting is the opportunity for the United States to see more Swiss firms producing in the United States. “Swiss companies are eager to come to us, particularly in the fields of pharmaceuticals, aeronautics and gold refining, an activity for which Switzerland is recognized.”
Jamieson Greer also stressed that the discussions focused on “a greater opening of the Swiss market” to American exports. “We are therefore holding close discussions with the Swiss,” he concluded.
As a reminder, the Federal Council had set a deadline of the end of October to obtain from Donald Trump a reduction in customs duties of 39% imposed at the beginning of August on Swiss exports. This deadline has, however, been postponed until further notice. Diplomatic and political exchanges have so far not led to any breakthrough.
