End of the shutdown, tariff reduction rumours, and a COP30 no-show

The US Capitol on Tuesday. Keystone/Swissinfo

Welcome to our press review of events in the United States. Every Wednesday we look at how the Swiss media have reported and reacted to three major stories in the US – in politics, finance and science.

When the heads of six large Swiss companies travelled to the White House last week, they came bearing gifts, a lot of them gold. I must admit that one of my first thoughts, on seeing the photo, was, “six wise men”. It turns out that political scientist Ludovic Iberg agrees, pointing out the “almost biblical staging of this delegation: the Magi bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus”.

There is plenty of speculation about the consequences of that meeting, as well as a possible end to the US government shutdown and the lack of official attendance at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil. What do the Swiss make of it all?

Waiting at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Monday, when more than 1,600 flights were cancelled in the US. Keystone

Is an end in sight for the longest shutdown in US history? On Monday enough Democrats in the Senate voted for a compromise that would restore funding to government agencies. This looks likes an expensive mistake, reckons the Tages-Anzeiger in Zurich.

“We’re re-opening our country,” US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday in a speech at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day. “It should never have been closed.”

Members of the House of Representatives are meeting on Wednesday for a vote that could re-open the government and restore stability to air travel and food subsidies. Trump said the forthcoming end to the 42-day budget paralysis represented a “very great victory” for the Republicans, while anger is mounting among the Democrats at the senators from their camp who voted to end the shutdown, according to the Tribune de Genève.

“The Democrats cave in to Donald Trump again – it will cost them dearly” was the headline of an editorial in the Tages-Anzeiger. “Eight dissenters [seven Democrats and an Independent] have buckled in the face of Trump’s stubbornness. Now, of all times, when the Democrats could benefit from Trump’s economic chaos.”

The Democrats had “gambled and lost”, political scientist Claudia Brühwiler told Swiss public radio SRF. The Democrats thought the Trump government would want to keep the shutdown as short as possible, she explained: every government wants to prevent a shutdown or, if it does happen, keep it as short as possible. “This was not the case with Donald Trump,” she said. “The shutdown has shown just how far Trump is willing to go.”

The Tages-Anzeiger said that for the first time in months, one had the impression that Trump was wobbling and that the Democrats had an issue, namely Trump’s economic chaos. “This momentum has been destroyed,” it said. “The president gets his way again because eight senators would rather give in to his wishes than take a stand. In the short term this will help the US, but in the long term it will be expensive for many people, including the Democrats.”

• Coverage of the end of the shutdown by SRFExternal link and RTSExternal link (German and French)

• Editorial in the Tages-AnzeigerExternal link (German, paywall)

• ‘Trump claims ‘great victory’ as shutdown nears end’ – Tribune de GenèveExternal link (French)

• Interview with Claudia BrühwilerExternal link – SRF (German)

The meeting in the Oval Office was held ‘in a constructive spirit’. Keystone-SDA

Switzerland is reportedly close to a deal in the customs dispute with the United States after some of Switzerland’s largest businesses launched a charm offensive targeting Donald Trump. But when does giving gold bars and watches become corruption?

On Monday the news agency Bloomberg reported that the agreement includes a reduction of the current 39% US tariff on imports of numerous Swiss goods to 15%. “No comment,” said the Swiss economics ministry, pointing out that the negotiations were ongoing.

Last week the CEOs of six large Swiss companies travelled to the White House in an attempt to convince Trump that a bilateral trade agreement would significantly benefit both countries. Bloomberg claims this meeting acted as an “accelerator” to a deal, but on Wednesday Swiss public radio RTS asked whether business leaders have the right to turn themselves into diplomats, “even if it means flirting with corruption and putting Switzerland’s interests at risk?”

RTS pointed out that the heads of the six Swiss heavyweights (MSC, Rolex, Mercuria, Partners Group, MKS and Richemont) reportedly made investment proposals and showered Trump with gifts, including a gold Rolex clock and an “engraved gold bar” worth up to an estimated CHF40,000 ($50,000).

“The approach taken by these private players is raising questions and attracting criticism, notably accusations of corruption,” RTS said. However, it admitted that under Swiss law the issue of corruption is complex. It would have to be proven, for example, that the companies made these gifts to Trump precisely so that he would grant a favour in return. “Given the current state of affairs and our knowledge of this encounter, it is impossible to draw any conclusions,” RTS said.

Political scientist Ludovic Iberg pointed out the “almost biblical staging of this delegation: the Magi bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus. What we have here is a very clear hierarchical balance of power”.

And even if the immediate result could be positive, Iberg was concerned about the long-term aspects. “Playing these cards raises the fundamental question of democracy,” he told RTS. “None of these six representatives has any diplomatic representation whatsoever or holds an elective mandate. The concessions they discussed in the Oval Office will hang over the rest of the negotiations like a spectre. It will be difficult for [Economics Minister] Guy Parmelin or [Finance Minister] Karin Keller-Sutter to go back on these concessions.”

• News report on tariff reduction via Swissinfo

• Reactions of Swiss business leaders and politicians to rumours of a tariff reductionExternal link – SRF (German)

• Swiss bosses’ gifts and negotiations with Trump raise questionsExternal link – RTS (French)

• Trump, cigar diplomacy and SwitzerlandExternal link – Le Temps (French, paywall)

An indigenous woman in Belém, Brazil, on Sunday. The city is hosting the 30th UN Climate Change Conference, COP30, from November 10-21. Keystone

The US government is boycotting the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil. But while US President Donald Trump describes climate change as a “con job”, others in the US see it differently and have travelled to Belém.

More than 190 countries have travelled to the COP30 talks, which began on Monday and run until November 21. They want to discuss how climate protection can be revitalised and how emissions from coal, oil and gas can be reduced. “But one important player is missing: US President Donald Trump,” Swiss public radio SRF reported on Wednesday.

“This ‘climate change’ – it’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” Trump saidExternal link at the UN General Assembly in September. In January, on his first day back as president, he signed an order to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

“Trump is the big absentee at the COP30 world climate conference in Brazil,” reported Blick. “Nevertheless, he’s likely to have a massive influence on the negotiations in Belém. The US’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement puts the global community in a difficult position. Climate protection advocates are therefore hoping for a clear signal against Trump.”

However, the US is a “divided nation” when it comes to climate protection, Blick wrote. More than a hundred representatives from US states and municipalities are taking part in COP30 as a sign of opposition to Trump.

The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, said he was at COP30 to show how California was leading the way in green technologies. California is part of a coalition of 24 states and regions, not only from the US but also internationally, committed to ambitious climate targets.

Newsom also called on people not to be intimidated by the US president. “Trump is temporary, and I hope folks around the globe remember that,” he said, quoted by Swiss news portal Watson.

SRF concluded that Newsom and his colleagues couldn’t replace the lack of official representation from the US, “but they are sending a clear signal that many federal states tick differently than the Trump administration when it comes to the climate”.

• California defies Trump at the climate summit in BrazilExternal link – SRF (German)

• Global community struggles to send strong signal against TrumpExternal link – Blick (German)

• Gavin Newson: ‘Trump is only temporary’External link – Watson (German)

The next edition of ‘Swiss views of US news’ will be published on Wednesday, November 19. See you then!

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