Are you noticing or anticipating any changes in your life as a result of the tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump?
It is clear that Parmelin and Keller-Sutter (and possibly others in the Swiss administration) mis-read the US tariff initiative as it effects Switzerland - why this is so is still an open-question. __However, reading the body language of the two people involved at various press conferences on this topic, it seems there was not much agreement between the two about how to approach the US.__Switzerland is not alone as many people/countries have done the same. Stating this 'tariff issue' is unfair, immoral, etc. misses the point completely, the fact is Swiss industry/pharma need the US more than vice versa and the sooner everyone realises this fact, the better for all people/countries involved. __Can this method be called unfair? That depends on one's point of view. The US would state that it was unfair for countries to take advantage of the US in the past when tariffs were imposed on US goods entering foreign trading partners but not imposed on goods entering the US from those same countries. It is difficult to argue against that point. __Fair trade also sounds better than free trade - this is all about fairness and standing up for oneself. If Switzerland has something unique to offer the US, now would be the time to produce it/them....__QED.
SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@goldenray@aol.com
What is certainly true is that Swiss pharma needs the US market. But the prices for the products are set in the USA, which is why the argument of retaliation does not make sense. The same applies to tariffs: Switzerland recently had practically 0% tariffs on American products. These are the two main reasons why the 39% tariffs are so incomprehensible here.__What could happen next for Switzerland? That is currently unclear, and the government and companies are weighing up their options. Here is something to read (in English): https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/foreign-affairs/trumps-tariffs-expose-weakness-of-switzerlands-economic-independence/89818791
Was sicher stimmt, ist dass die Schweizer Pharma den US-Markt braucht. Aber die Preise für die Produkte werden in den USA festgesetzt, darum ist das Argument der Vergeltung nicht nachvollziehbar. Das Gleiche gilt auch für die Zölle: Die Schweiz hatte zuletzt praktisch 0% Zölle auf amerikanische Produkte. Das sind die zwei Hauptgründe, weshalb die 39%-Zölle hier so unverständlich sind.__Wie es für die Schweiz weitergehen könnte? Das ist zurzeit unklar, Regierung und Unternehmen wägen ihre Optionen ab. Hier etwas zum Nachlesen (auf Englisch): https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/foreign-affairs/trumps-tariffs-expose-weakness-of-switzerlands-economic-independence/89818791
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