Swiss deploy charm offensive in bid to slash crippling Trump tariffs

Swiss ministers are in Washington for talks aimed at reducing US President Donald Trump’s high 39 percent tariffs on Swiss exports to the US – the highest in Europe.

Initial attempts by Swiss President Karin Keller Sutter to change Trump’s mind were ignored. But a visit from business leaders seems to have changed his mind.

Swiss industry leaders arrived at the Oval Office on November 4 bearing gifts, including a Rolex gold watch and a specially engraved gold bar from Switzerland-based gold refining company MKS.

Switzerland has been trying for months to reduce high US tariffs, which have already hit Switzerland hard.

Trump’s response to the Swiss president’s offer was that she was “a nice woman, but she didn’t want to listen.”

But last week’s private business initiative took a more unusual approach.

Already this week, Trump said that a deal was being worked on to bring tariffs “a little lower.” I haven’t set any numbers.

“Our entire initiative has been carried out in the spirit of Swiss unity between the private and public sectors,” Swiss industrialists said in a statement after their meeting.

Some business figures, particularly those trading in luxury goods, gold or commodities, already had connections in Trump’s circle.

In September, Trump appeared at the US Open tennis final at the Rolex VIP box, hosted by Jean Frédéric Dufour, chief executive of the Swiss watch company.

The president, apparently guessing what was going on, even asked if Dufour would be there if Trump had not imposed such high tariffs on Switzerland.

Last week, Dufour met with Trump again, this time in the Oval Office, with business leaders including Johann Rupert of luxury goods maker Richemont and Marwan Shakarchi of MKS.

These days, it’s pretty normal for any leader going to the Oval Office to come with a gift in hand.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has brought an invitation from King Charles for a lavish state visit. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz presented Trump with a framed copy of his German grandfather’s birth certificate.

Requests to confirm the gifts to the two Swiss companies involved resulted in a “no comment” response from Rolex and MKS.

But days after the meeting, Trump was photographed in the Oval Office wearing a watch that looked very similar to the Rolex “Datejust” desk clock produced by the company as a collector’s item and worth tens of thousands of dollars.

A White House official confirmed that the two items were given to Trump.

The US president receives thousands of gifts each year, which then become US property, stored in the National Archives and filed annually by the state department.

They are eventually transferred to the presidential library. Some gifts can be kept, but presidents must pay federal taxes unless they come from a close relative.

In 1969, President Richard Nixon politely rejected the gift of a Swiss Omega watch commemorating the Moon landing.

Whatever happens to the Swiss gifts, Trump’s attitude towards the Swiss appears to have softened, as he told reporters he was working on something “to help Switzerland.”

Swiss economy minister Guy Parmelin and chief trade negotiator Helene Budliger Artieda, who traveled to Washington on Wednesday, are more hopeful than they have been in months over suggestions that the 39 percent tariff could be reduced to 15 percent, the same as Switzerland’s EU neighbors.

On the other hand, the promises of Swiss pharmaceutical giants to establish more production facilities in the USA are already on the table. It has been reported that Swiss International Airlines, whose fleet consists mainly of Airbus, may also turn to Boeing.

So will it be enough? The Swiss industry is waiting with bated breath. Tariffs are starting to get tougher and some Swiss companies are warning that they will have to furlough staff if nothing changes.

There is another very influential name that the Swiss can apply to.

Gianni Infantino, a Swiss citizen who is the president of FIFA and a longtime friend of Trump, was reportedly encouraged by some Swiss parliamentarians to change the president’s mind.

As part of preparations for the World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year, Infantino visited the Oval Office in August carrying the trophy.

As the cameras rolled, he handed it to Trump, saying he was a “winner.” The President replied, “Can I keep it? It’s a beautiful piece of gold.”

Infantino also announced a brand new Fifa world peace award, which will be announced in Washington DC on December 5th.

All bets are off on who that might be.