Swiss Firms Look to Boost US Presence in Trade Talks, Greer Says

(Bloomberg) — Swiss firms are eager to bolster their US manufacturing presence as part of the nation’s effort to persuade President Donald Trump to lower tariffs on its imports, his top trade adviser said.

“What’s really exciting about that potential deal is the opportunity for more manufacturing in the United States,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Thursday on Fox Business. “Swiss companies are quite eager to come here and do things in terms of pharmaceutical manufacturing, aircraft and aircraft parts, even gold smelting.”

The Swiss government is also considering “opening their market in a greater way” to US products, Greer added.

The comments are the latest sign of progress in Switzerland’s attempts to get Trump to cut the 39% tariffs on its exports, a level that threatens to drive up costs for iconic companies, including chocolatier Lindt as well as watchmakers Rolex SA and Swatch Group AG.

Trump earlier this week announced additional trade talks with Switzerland after meeting with business executives, and appointed Greer to help lead the process. The Swiss government previously said it was aware of the effort but that the corporate leaders scheduled the meetings on their own initiative.

“We met with them this week, and have been for several weeks,” Greer said Thursday. “We’re in close conversations with the Swiss.”

Switzerland has been especially hard hit by Trump’s tariff regime. It received the highest rate of any developed nation and its economy is heavily reliant on exports. The fresh effort underscores growing nervousness among the European nation’s business community over how long the high levies have been in place.

The Swiss government has previously offered to invest in the US gold-refining industry. Switzerland is also a major exporter of pharmaceuticals to the US.

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