US court ruling on tariffs weakens US negotiating position with Switzerland

Sahgal says judgement weakens US negotiating position Keystone-SDA

According to the head of the Swiss-US Chamber of Commerce, the ruling by the US Court of Appeal on the tariffs weakens the US government’s negotiating position vis-à-vis Switzerland.

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Switzerland has sent its optimised offer to Washington. “The goal is clear: the tariff of 39% must be reduced as quickly and significantly as possible,” said Rahul Sahgal in an interview published by the NZZ am Sonntag on Sunday.

However, the judgement puts the US administration under time pressure. “If the Supreme Court restricts the previous legal basis or even declares it inapplicable before Switzerland concludes a deal with the US, everything will become more complicated for Washington,” he said. The US government would then have to find a new legal basis for the tariffs against Switzerland.

Supreme Court ruling

On Friday, an appeals court in the US denied US President Donald Trump the authority to impose far-reaching tariffs on imported products by invoking an emergency law. According to Sahgal, the Swiss-US Chamber of Commerce assumes that the tariffs on Switzerland are included in the judgement. However, the Court of Appeal’s decision will not come into force before October 14. This gives the US government time to appeal to the Supreme Court. Trump has announced his intention to do so.

It remains to be seen when and how the Supreme Court will decide. Sahgal does not expect the Supreme Court to issue the US President with a blank cheque – even if the Court has a conservative majority. The head of the Chamber of Commerce believes it is possible that the court will allow a limited application of the Emergency Powers Act as a basis for tariffs.

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Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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