Switzerland's President reportedly succeeded in influencing Trump's decision on tariffs.
Let's dive into the latest tea about Karin Keller-Sutter, Switzerland's president, and her phoner with Donald Trump. On April 9th, she dropped a casual bomb on social media platform X, hinting at a conversation with the US president regarding "bilateral trade and ways to tackle US ambitions."
But what really went down, according to US media reports, is that Keller-Sutter may have been the one who twisted the old man's arm to delay those pesky tariffs for a whopping 90 days, and slap on custom duties of only 10% on most nations.
Did the Swiss president play hardball with Trump?
According to an article in the Washington Post, that's exactly what went down. The paper reported that Trump, with his luxury watches and Swiss chocolates getting slammed with a 31% tariff, had a heart-to-heart with Karin Keller-Sutter on Wednesday morning.
So, how did she work her charm?
The Post spilled the beans, claiming that Karin Keller-Sutter put the smackdown on Trump, emphasizing the role that Swiss businesses play in creating US jobs and how, last year, Switzerland abolished tariffs on imports of US industrial goods. She might've even casually dropped in that the United States is Switzerland's most important destination for foreign direct investment, with an impressive 307 billion USD (257 billion francs) invested. That's more than Germany, France, Italy, and the UK combined!
Furthermore, Swiss companies support half a million US jobs, and are particularly active in manufacturing, heavily outspending affiliates from other nations in research and development.
Time to get strategic.
In light of the successful outcome of the call, Economy Minister Guy Parmelin revealed that this temporary reprieve provides Switzerland with a precious 90 days to strategize.
"We have 90 days to figure out what the US wants," he said.
[1] Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter in Washington to lobby U.S. officials after Switzerland caught off guard by size of reciprocal tariffs on Swiss imports. Swiss Info. March 26, 2018. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_president_karin_keller-sutter_in_washington_to_lobby_us_officials_after_switzerland_caught_off_guard_by_size_of_reciprocal_tariffs_on_swiss_imports/44191658
- Karin Keller-Sutter, the Swiss president, is reported to have successfully delayed the implementation of tariffs on Swiss imports by 90 days, according to US media reports.
- In a conversation with Donald Trump, Keller-Sutter might have used the role of Swiss businesses in creating US jobs and the significant investment in the United States by Swiss companies as leverage to persuade Trump.
- The post also mentioned that the United States is Switzerland's most important destination for foreign direct investment, with over 307 billion USD invested in 2021.
- Following the successful conversation with Trump, Economy Minister Guy Parmelin revealed that Switzerland now has 90 days to strategize on meeting the US's demands to avoid permanent tariffs.
