“Our cooperation spans trade, finance, and security areas where Swiss leadership and reliability continue to make a global impact,” Rubio continued. “We wish the Swiss people a successful and meaningful celebration and look forward to continued collaboration in the years ahead.”
Normally on August 1, the nation of 9 million marks the foundation of the Swiss Confederation in 1291. Similar to July 4 in the U.S., the celebration includes fireworks and parades.
However, the Swiss may not be in a celebratory mood this year, as they fared worse compared to the EU, which secured a last-minute deal with President Donald Trump to establish a 15 percent baseline tariff. Meanwhile, the U.K. pays 10 percent.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Switzerland for trade discussions in May, but these were with Chinese officials. This situation has left the Alpine country, along with its prominent financial and pharmaceutical sectors, on the sidelines.
The Federal Council, the country’s collective government, expressed “great regret that, despite the progress made in bilateral talks and Switzerland’s very constructive stance from the outset, the U.S. intends to impose unilateral additional tariffs on imports from Switzerland.”
“Switzerland has been and remains in contact with the relevant U.S. authorities. It continues to seek a negotiated solution with the U.S. that accords with Swiss law and its obligations under international law,” it stated on X.
The new Swiss tariff is even higher than the 31 percent initially announced by Trump on “Liberation Day” back in April. It is set to take effect on August 7, leaving only a week to negotiate a less detrimental deal.
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