Trump Scores New Trade Deals

US president Donald Trump this week secured five new frameworks for trade deals to lower the cost of living in the United States, encourage more foreign investment, and address Washington’s trade deficit with other countries.

On Friday, the United States reached a bilateral trade agreement with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which required reducing customs duties from 39 and 37 percent, respectively, to 15 percent. The new rate, which is set to take effect over the next few weeks, is expected to provide much-needed relief to Bern, which has received one of the highest US tariffs in the world; The initial tax imposed by Switzerland at 39% was more than double the rate that Washington imposed on the European Union.

US President Donald Trump this week secured five new frameworks for trade deals to lower the cost of living in the United States, encourage more foreign investment, and address Washington’s trade deficit with other countries.

On Friday, the United States reached a bilateral trade agreement with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which required reducing customs duties from 39 and 37 percent, respectively, to 15 percent. The new rate, which is set to take effect over the next few weeks, is expected to provide much-needed relief to Bern, which has received one of the highest US tariffs in the world; The initial tax imposed by Switzerland at 39% was more than double the rate that Washington imposed on the European Union.

Trump justified his particularly high tariffs on Switzerland by pointing to the goods trade surplus with the United States of about $40 billion in 2024. To address this, Bern pledged on Friday to invest $200 billion during Trump’s second term in key American industries such as pharmaceuticals and gold smelting. Of this, $70 billion is scheduled to be invested next year.

This deal came one day after Washington concluded similar frameworks with four countries in Latin America: Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador. These agreements would maintain overall US tariffs of 10% on Argentina, Guatemala and El Salvador and 15% on Ecuador, but would remove US duties on select goods, such as bananas and coffee.

US imports of Argentine beef, which originally faced a 10 percent tariff, are now expected to be exempt, although the US will likely not change its quota to increase the amount of Argentine beef entering the country. The beef exception highlights Trump’s friendly relationship with far-right Argentine President Javier Miley, whose country Trump granted a $40 billion bailout despite the anger of his fellow Republicans.

Read more in today’s Global Brief: Trump secures frameworks for new trade deal in Europe and Latin America.