Swiss Lawmakers File Criminal Complaint Over Trump-Tariff Gifts
(Bloomberg) — Swiss politicians filed a criminal complaint with the country’s top prosecutor over a Rolex table clock and an engraved gold bar presented to US President Donald Trump by business executives shortly before he agreed to cut tariffs on the country’s exports.
Two Swiss MPs, Greta Gysin and Raphael Mahaim, urged the Office of the Attorney-General to investigate whether the gifts were tantamount to bribery of foreign officials, according to the Nov. 26 letter seen by Bloomberg News. The gold bar was worth at least 100,000 Swiss francs ($124,000) and the clock could be worth as much as 25,000 francs the politicians wrote, citing estimates from the industry press.
The Attorney General’s office confirmed receipt of this complaint and two others about the case, all filed against ‘persons unknown.’ It said it will examine them as it would any complaint, but stressed that doing so doesn’t mean that an investigation has been opened.
“The average person is rightly questioning the legality of these gifts offered to the American president in order to get him to unblock a trade negotiation file,” according to the letter.
The complaints reflect growing criticism among left-leaning politicians over the lobbying that led to Switzerland this month securing a reduction to the 39% tariffs that Trump hit Switzerland with on Aug. 1. A clutch of high-profile Swiss business executives paid a visit to Trump in the Oval office earlier this month where the gifts were presented.
The trip, about which the Swiss government was informed and whose preparation was coordinated with authorities, came after weeks of intense shuttle diplomacy to Washington, DC by top Swiss officials seeking to change the president’s mind. The 39% tariff handed the export-dependent Swiss economy the first contraction in more than two years.
In a statement after the meeting, the executives said that their visit was a private initiative but added that the content of their discussions with President Trump was shared with the Swiss government. “Our entire initiative was undertaken in the spirit of Swiss unity between the private and public sectors,” they said.
Less than two weeks after the Oval Office meeting, the US agreed to reduce tariffs on Swiss imports to 15%, in return for a broad $200 billion investment pledge by Swiss companies over the next five years. A comprehensive trade agreement is still subject to talks, which negotiators are aiming to finish by the first quarter of next year.
–With assistance from Bastian Benrath-Wright.
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