US President Donald Trump told Swiss President Karin Keller Sater in a phone call that a 10% tariff would not be enough for a trade deal and accused Switzerland of stealing money from the US.
Sater is now facing criticism after trade talks with Washington collapsed after a “disastrous” phone call with Trump, the Financial Times reported.
Trump announced a 39% tariff, one of the highest in the world, on Swiss goods, coinciding with a Swiss national holiday.
Swiss negotiators believed they had secured a temporary deal on a 10% tariff, similar to the British arrangement. In return, Bern pledged almost $150 billion in investment in the US and remained in regular contact with the US trade representative.
The offer was approved in early July, leaving the Swiss confident that all they had to do was wait for Trump’s signature.
Sater was granted rare “access to Trump.” However, during the half-hour call, Trump rejected the offer and instead focused on Switzerland’s $39 billion trade surplus.
Trump, according to a Financial Times source, allegedly asked her “what else can a very wealthy Alpine country (Switzerland) offer?”
Swiss media called the outcome of the negotiations “the biggest fiasco,” and the Blik newspaper compared it to the country’s worst defeat since 1515, when Swiss troops lost to France at the Battle of Marignane.
