Swiss president rushes to DC for crunch talks with Trump after shocking 39% tariff

President Karen Keeler Strip was leading the delegation after announcing last week that the exports of Swiss goods to the United States would face a large tariff of 39 % starting on Thursday-a step that took many Swiss business leaders by surprise.

This rate is higher than 2/2 times from the average of the European Union commodities exported to the United States and the highest four times the British exports to the United States

It is also more than 31 % of Switzerland to confront it when US President Donald Trump announced the “Liberation Day” tariff on products from dozens of countries in early April.

The Swiss government said that the journey was “facilitating meetings with the American authorities in a short notice and holding talks with the aim of improving the Swiss tariff situation.”

Keeler Score, who is also Minister of Finance in Switzerland, has criticized the Swiss media for a recent invitation with Trump before the United States’s deadline on August 1. It was leading a team that included Economy Minister Jay Parmelin.

In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Trump hinted to the call, saying, “The woman was nice, but she did not want to listen” and he told her: “We have a deficit of $ 41 billion with you, Madame … and she wants to pay a 1 % tariff.”

“I said,” You will not pay 1 %, “added.

It was not immediately clear where the number 41 billion dollars came from. According to the American Statistical Office, the United States made a 38.3 billion dollar commercial imbalances on goods last year with Switzerland.

Swiss officials have argued that American goods are facing a zero tariff in Switzerland, and the Swiss government says that the country of wealthy Alps is the sixth largest foreign investor in the United States and the leading investor in research and development.

“It is difficult to negotiate when you deal with an unpredictable person like Donald Trump.” He expressed concern that Swiss goods can become less competing for competing products from the neighboring European Union.

He said on the phone: “We had a (Swiss) government that gave the impression that the deal had been done, I just waited a signature from the president.” “We have the impression that we are punishing, but we do not know the reason.”

The powerful pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland – which has promised tens of billions of investments in the United States in recent months amid customs tariff fears – is exempt from a rate of 39 %. But Slatkine said that the level of sharp tariff can aim to send major drugs in Switzerland – embodied by Roche and Novartis – a message that it can be under pressure as well.

The government statement said on Tuesday that the journey comes a day after that the Executive Branch in Switzerland, the Federal Council, held an unusual meeting and said that “it is keen to follow up talks with the United States on the set of customs tariffs.”

After consulting with the Swiss companies, the council said it had developed “new ways of its discussions” with US officials and was looking forward to continuous negotiations.

A statement to the council said on Monday: “Switzerland is entering this new stage ready to make a more attractive offer, while taking concerns and seeking to alleviate the current customs tariff.”

Under the US advertisements on Friday, Swiss companies will now get one of the most severe export duties-Laos, Myanmar and Syria have only higher numbers, 40-41 %.