Switzerland taxed at 39%: “An attack on our prosperity”

The axe fell Thursday evening: Swiss products will be subject to a 39% tariff by the United States starting August 7. The two countries failed to reach an agreement before the deadline for customs duties expired, Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter announced after talks with US President Donald Trump. Reactions to this announcement were swift in the political and business worlds.

"President Trump's decision is a catastrophe and a direct attack on our prosperity," the PLR denounced. "The United States is sabotaging not only the very good and reliable relations it has maintained with our country for decades, but also free trade as a whole," the right-wing party insisted.

The latter fears "a massive increase in the prices of exported Swiss products, with serious consequences for our businesses, our jobs, and our wages." To the United States, our country exports mainly medicines, but also watches, machinery, coffee capsules, cheese, and chocolate. The PLR calls on the Federal Council to find "rapid measures to support the competitiveness of Swiss businesses and SMEs and mitigate the economic damage."

Samuel Bendahan, co-president of the Socialist Group in the Federal Chambers, sees this announcement as "the direct consequence of a short-sighted and isolated foreign economic policy." Mattea Meyer, co-president of the Swiss Socialist Party, criticizes "the strategy of appeasement chosen by the bourgeois majority, which showed Trump that he could do whatever he wanted." "We should never have given in," she says.

For the Socialist Party, Switzerland must cooperate more closely with Europe and other democracies. "In a world where the most powerful actors act unpredictably, it is essential to work together with reliable partners," says Samuel Bendahan.

Green Party leader Lisa Mazzone also criticizes Switzerland's "collapse and unilateral action" and calls for closer cooperation with Europe: "The Federal Council's strategy of appeasement has failed across the board. It is time to tax large American technology companies appropriately. Switzerland must develop an independent, green industrial policy in collaboration with Europe."

"It is neither justified nor understandable that Switzerland should be subject to one of the highest rates in the world," EconomieSuisse responded. "In comparison, the announced rate is 15% for the European Union and 10% for the United Kingdom." The Federation of Swiss Businesses is calling for our country to obtain "at least a reduction in US customs duties as soon as possible."

"For Swiss companies, a favorable solution to this customs dispute and reliable relationships with their main export market are decisive factors," she adds. She also points out that "Switzerland is the sixth-largest foreign investor in the United States, where Swiss companies are responsible for approximately 400,000 jobs."

For his part, Federal Councilor Albert Rösti also said he regretted the news from America. "I want to assure you, on behalf of the Federal Council, that we will continue the negotiations. They are not over," he continued.