logo
Swiss seize window of opportunity on Trump tariffs

Swiss seize window of opportunity on Trump tariffs

Iraqi News09-05-2025

Geneva – Switzerland will once again Friday try to talk its way out of punitive tariffs on its exports to the United States, which would have serious ramifications for Swiss jobs and businesses.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng are meeting in Geneva in an attempt to cool the trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
That has given the Swiss another chance to twist Washington's arm over the global wave of tariffs unleashed by US President Donald Trump on April 2, and comes a day after Britain reached a deal with the United States avoiding the worst of the punitive levies.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who is also the country's finance minister, and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin are set to meet Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at a top hotel in Geneva.
Few details have been made public about the talks, but the Swiss were also set to meet Vice Premier He and were due to hold a press conference later on Friday.
Keller-Sutter and Parmelin already met Bessent and Greer in Washington late last month in a bid to negotiate lower tariffs.
– Watchmakers on borrowed time? –
Given the size of Switzerland's trade surplus — exporting more to the United States than it imports from it — the Trump administration has threatened to impose a 31 percent levy on Swiss exports to the United States.
This would be catastrophic for major sectors of Switzerland's economy, such as manufacturing and watchmaking.
For now, Washington is imposing a 10 percent levy on goods coming from Switzerland.
In 2024, the total value of Switzerland's goods exports to the United States was expected to reach 52.65 billion Swiss francs ($63.7 billion), with pharmaceutical products being the largest export.
Imports of goods from the United States were valued at 14.13 billion francs, according to Switzerland's Federal Office for Customs and Border Security.
Switzerland is the sixth-largest foreign investor in the United States, and ranks first in research and development, with pharmaceuticals being a key sector.
The United States is Switzerland's biggest trading partner after the European Union.
– Nespresso and big pharma –
There may be only so far that Keller-Sutter can get Washington to bend.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday that Washington was likely to impose tariffs of more than 10 percent on trading partners with which it has a trade deficit.
'The 10 percent baseline is for those countries that have (a) balanced budget with us, that are the best,' Lutnick told CNBC television. 'Those who had trade deficits are going to have a higher tariff.'
The potential repercussions of the Trump tariffs on Switzerland are still difficult to quantify.
When publishing its quarterly sales figures, food giant Nestle indicated that its Swiss-made Nespresso coffee pods were likely to be affected.
Pharmaceuticals were not targeted in the tariffs announced in early April — though the Trump administration has blown hot and cold on such products since then.
Faced with the uncertainties, two Swiss heavyweights in the sector took their own initiative.
Novartis announced in mid-April that it was increasing its investments in the United States by $23 billion over five years, with Roche announcing shortly afterwards that it likewise planned to invest $50 billion over five years.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Hopes rise as US and China hold second day of trade talks
Hopes rise as US and China hold second day of trade talks

Iraqi News

time6 hours ago

  • Iraqi News

Hopes rise as US and China hold second day of trade talks

London – The United States and China began a second day of trade talks on Tuesday, seeking to shore up a shaky tariff truce in a bitter row deepened by export curbs. The gathering of key officials from the world's two biggest economies began Monday in London, after an earlier round of talks in Geneva last month. Stock markets wavered as investors hoped the talks will bring some much-needed calm on trading floors and ease tensions between the economic superpowers. A US Treasury spokesman told AFP on Tuesday the 'talks resumed earlier this' morning. One of US President Donald Trump's top advisers said he expected 'a big, strong handshake' at the end of the talks in the historic Lancaster House, operated by the UK foreign ministry. Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday: 'We are doing well with China. China's not easy. 'I'm only getting good reports.' The agenda is expected to be dominated by exports of rare earth minerals used in a wide range of things including smartphones, electric vehicle batteries and green technology. 'In Geneva, we had agreed to lower tariffs on them, and they had agreed to release the magnets and rare earths that we need throughout the economy,' Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Monday. But even though Beijing was releasing some supplies, 'it was going a lot slower than some companies believed was optimal', he added. Still, he said he expected 'a big, strong handshake' at the end of the talks. 'Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume,' Hassett added. He also said the Trump administration might be willing to ease some recent curbs on tech exports. – Concessions? – Tensions between Washington and Beijing have heightened since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariffs war hiking duties on each other's exports to three figures — an effective trade embargo. The Geneva pact to cool tensions temporarily brought new US tariffs on Chinese goods down from 145 percent to 30 percent, and Chinese countermeasures from 125 percent to 10 percent. But Trump recently said China had 'totally violated' the deal. 'Investors are willing to grab on to any positive trade headline right now, as this is keeping hopes of a rally alive,' said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at the Swissquote Bank, said that although there had been 'no breakthrough' it seemed 'the first day of the second round of negotiations reportedly went relatively well'. 'Rumours are circulating that the US may be willing to make concessions on tech exports in exchange for China easing restrictions on rare earth metal exports,' she said. Rare earth shipments from China to the US have slowed since the tariff war was triggered by Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' announcements, according to Brooks. The US leader slapped sweeping levies of 10 percent on friend and foe alike, and threatened steeper rates on dozens of economies. The tariffs have already had a sharp effect, with official figures from Beijing showing Chinese exports to the United States in May plunged by 12.7 percent. China is also in talks with other trading partners — including Japan and South Korea — to try to build a united front to counter Trump's tariffs. Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung to work with Beijing to uphold free trade to ensure 'the stability and smooth functioning of global and regional industrial and supply chains.' 'A healthy, stable, and continuously deepening China–South Korea relationship aligns with the trend of the times,' Xi said in a phone call, according to the Xinhua news agency. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is heading the team in London, which included Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are leading the US delegation.

Asian markets extend gains as China-US talks head into second day
Asian markets extend gains as China-US talks head into second day

Iraqi News

time6 hours ago

  • Iraqi News

Asian markets extend gains as China-US talks head into second day

Hong Kong – Asian stocks squeezed out more gains Tuesday as the latest round of China-US trade talks moved into a second day, with one of Donald Trump's top advisers saying he expected 'a big, strong handshake'. There is optimism the negotiations — which come after the US president spoke to Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week — will bring some much-needed calm to markets and ease tensions between the economic superpowers. The advances in Asian equities built on Monday's rally and followed a broadly positive day on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 edged closer to the record high touched earlier in the year. This week's meeting in London will look to smooth relations after Trump accused Beijing of violating an agreement made at a meeting of top officials last month in Geneva that ended with the two sides slashing tit-for-tat tariffs. The key issues on the agenda at the talks are expected to be exports of rare earth minerals used in a wide range of things including smartphones and electric vehicle batteries. 'In Geneva, we had agreed to lower tariffs on them, and they had agreed to release the magnets and rare earths that we need throughout the economy,' Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Monday. But even though Beijing was releasing some supplies, 'it was going a lot slower than some companies believed was optimal', he added. Still, he said he expected 'a big, strong handshake' at the end of the talks. 'Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume,' Hassett added. He also said the Trump administration might be willing to ease some recent curbs on tech exports. The president told reporters at the White House: 'We are doing well with China. China's not easy. 'I'm only getting good reports.' Tokyo led gains in Asian markets, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington and Jakarta also well up. 'The bulls will layer into risk on any rhetoric that publicly keeps the two sides at the table,' said Pepperstone's Chris Weston. 'And with the meeting spilling over to a second day, the idea of some sort of loose agreement is enough to underpin the grind higher in US equity and risk exposures more broadly.' Investors are also awaiting key US inflation data this week, which could impact the Federal Reserve's monetary policy amid warnings Trump's tariffs will refuel inflation strengthening the argument to keep interest rates on hold. However, it also faces pressure from the president to cut rates, with bank officials due to make a decision at their meeting next week. While recent jobs data has eased concerns about the US economy, analysts remain cautious. 'Tariffs are likely to remain a feature of US trade policy under President Trump,' said Matthias Scheiber and John Hockers at Allspring Global Investments. 'A strong US consumer base was helping buoy the global economy and avoid a global recession.' However, they also warned: 'The current global trade war coupled with big spending cuts by the US government and possibly higher US inflation could derail US consumer spending to the point that the global economy contracts for multiple quarters.' – Key figures at around 0230 GMT – Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 38,473.97 (break) Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 24,275.16 Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,405.64 Euro/dollar: DOWN $1.1394 from $1.1420 on Monday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3530 from $1.3552 Dollar/yen: UP at 145.14 yen 144.60 yen Euro/pound: DOWN 84.21 from 84.27 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $65.61 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $67.37 per barrel New York – Dow: FLAT at 42,761.76 (close) London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,832.28 (close)

Oil up as market watches US-China trade talks
Oil up as market watches US-China trade talks

Shafaq News

time11 hours ago

  • Shafaq News

Oil up as market watches US-China trade talks

Shafaq News/ Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of U.S.-China talks that could pave the way for easing trade tensions and improve fuel demand. Brent crude futures rose 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $67.32 a barrel by 0330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 23 cents, or 0.4%, at $65.52. On Monday, Brent had risen to $67.19, the highest since April 28, buoyed by the prospect of a U.S.-China trade deal. U.S.-China trade talks were set to continue for a second day in London as top officials aimed to ease tensions that have expanded from tariffs to rare earth curbs, risking global supply chain disruptions and slower growth. Prices have recovered as demand concerns have faded with the trade talks between Washington and Beijing and a favourable U.S. jobs report, while there are risks to North American supply due to wildfires in Canada, Goldman Sachs analysts said. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the talks with China were going well and he was "only getting good reports" from his team in London. A trade deal between the U.S. and China could support the global economic outlook and boost demand for commodities including oil. Elsewhere, Iran said it would soon hand a counter-proposal for a nuclear deal to the U.S. in response to a U.S. offer that Tehran deems "unacceptable", while Trump made clear that the two sides remained at odds over whether the country would be allowed to continue enriching uranium on Iranian soil. Iran is the third-largest producer among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and any easing of U.S. sanctions on Iran would allow it to export more oil, weighing on global crude prices. Meanwhile, a Reuters survey found that OPEC oil output rose in May, although the increase was limited as Iraq pumped below target to compensate for earlier overproduction and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates made smaller hikes than allowed. OPEC+, which pumps about half of the world's oil and includes OPEC members and allies such as Russia, is accelerating its plan to unwind its most recent layer of output cuts. "The prospect of further hikes in OPEC supply continues to hang over the market," Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a note. "A permanent shift to a market driven strategy (in OPEC) would push the oil market into a sizeable surplus in H2 2025 and almost surely lead to lower oil prices."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store