Swiss economics minister praises ‘very good’ tariff talks with US

Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin said the US and Swiss delegations had had “a very good discussion and were able to clarify almost all the points” on tariffs. Keystone-SDA

Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin was upbeat on Thursday after his visit to Washington to discuss tariffs.

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“We had a very good discussion and were able to clarify almost all the points,” he told Swiss public radio SRF.

“As soon as these points have been definitively clarified, further information will be communicated.”

According to reports from the United States, Parmelin made only a brief appearance before the media due to scheduling reasons.

The Swiss minister travelled to Washington on Wednesday night accompanied by Helene Budliger Artieda, State Secretary for Economic Affairs (SECO).

Discussions “at various levels” took place in the afternoon, said Markus Spörndli, spokesperson for the economics ministry.

‘Very positive’ discussions

Parmelin met White House Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. “The exchanges were very positive,” a senior American official who took part in the meeting between the two men told the press, quoted by the AFP news agency.

According to this source, who requested anonymity, the Swiss “are very aware of the need to reduce” trade imbalances. The White House claims that the United States imports more Swiss products than it exports to Switzerland.

“They have presented us with plans to do this,” said the official, quoted by AFP, suggesting that customs duties on Swiss products could be reduced.

This was Parmelin’s third meeting with the US authorities in the space of a few months in an attempt to reduce the 39% tariff that has been imposed on Swiss imports since August, one of the highest imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Shortly before the 39% tariffs came into force in August, Parmelin and Karin Keller-Sutter, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency role, travelled to Washington. However, a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio failed to produce any concrete results.

Close to an agreement?

In September, Parmelin made another last-minute visit to the US, where he held talks at ministerial level. On November 7, it was announced that he had again held talks with Greer that were “constructive”.

On Monday evening, the financial news agency Bloomberg had claimed, citing anonymous sources, that Switzerland was close to an agreement to reduce customs duties to 15%, the same level as those applied to Swiss companies’ main competitors in the European Union, Japan and South Korea.

Also on Monday, referring to Switzerland at a press conference at the White House, Trump declared: “We’re working on an agreement to lower their tariffs a little bit.” However, he would not give precise figures, adding only: “We are working on something to help Switzerland.”

Switzerland’s watchmaking and medical devices industries, as well as the machinery, electrical equipment and metals sectors, stand to benefit most from lower customs duties, UBS told the AWP news agency. The alignment of customs duties with the EU should also reduce the pressure on Swiss exporters and prevent them from relocating their production to the EU or the United States, according to Lucerne Cantonal Bank.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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