&w=3840&q=100)
Swiss scramble to avert Trump's 39% tariff ahead of looming deadline
With the rate — the highest among industrial nations — set to go into effect on Aug. 7, President and Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter convened an emergency meeting of the governing Federal Council on Monday to discuss how to proceed.
Separately, negotiators with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs have reached out to their US counterparts to try and find a way forward. The agency, which hammered out a far more favorable tentative deal with the US more than a month ago, also held a briefing with business leaders on Monday.
Keller-Sutter, who was criticized in the Swiss press over the weekend for allowing Trump to blindside her without a backup plan, said she would be willing to make a last-minute trip to Washington if she thought there was a chance a deal could be made.
'I don't rule out such a visit, but first, the two sides should come closer together in their positions,' she told the newspaper Schweiz am Wochenende. It's not clear what, if any, response there has been from the US government.
'It's unfortunate that the Swiss took so much time' to react, says Thomas Borer, a former Swiss diplomat who now runs his own consulting firm, echoing the criticism made in the press.
Despite the backlash, the Swiss president doesn't face any immediate danger of losing her job. The system is designed for continuity, and the presidency rotates on an annual basis, meaning her term running the country will come to a close at the end of the year.
The Trump administration justified Friday's move by claiming that Switzerland had in essence stolen money from the US and should therefore be hit with a tariff rate commensurate with the trade deficit — a notion Ketter-Sutter dismissed as 'absurd.'
Switzerland ran a $38 billion bilateral trade surplus with the US last year, according to US Census data, which was the 13th biggest for the world's largest economy. While Swiss exports to the US collapsed after the introduction of tariffs in April, they rebounded in June, suggesting that trade between the two countries remained robust.
What Bloomberg Economics Says...
'We estimate that this represents a tariff shock of around 23 percentage points for the Swiss economy, putting roughly 1 per cent of its GDP at risk over the medium term.'
There are not many routes available to Switzerland, but one is to offer to buy liquefied natural gas from the US. While the landlocked country is focused on hydroelectric and nuclear power, it does use a small amount of gas, primarily in the winter to cushion swings in its energy supply. Should Switzerland choose to import more gas, it would have to travel through neighboring countries, which could potentially increase transit costs.
So far, the expectation appears to be that Keller-Sutter and the government will secure a better deal. The Swiss market benchmark SMI was down just 0.43 per cent as of 11:37 a.m. on Monday.
'We expect negotiations to bring the 39 per cent Swiss tariff rate closer to the 15 per cent agreed with the EU,' Lombard Odier investment strategists said in a research note. 'In the unlikely event that this trade dispute is not resolved,' they added, they will revise their forecast for gross domestic product.
Given the 'volatility of decisions we've seen from the US,' there's hope that a solution may be found, Franziska Ryser, a lawmaker of the Green party, told Bloomberg.
'On the other hand, we must draw political conclusions from the situation and acknowledge that — at least under the Trump administration — America is no longer a reliable partner,' she said. 'This means that we should strengthen cooperation with the EU and coordinate more closely with our European partners.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Brazil's Supreme Court orders house arrest for former President Bolsonaro, a Trump ally
Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election — a case that has gripped the South American country as it faces a trade war with the Trump administration. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case against Bolsonaro before the top court, said in his decision that the 70-year-old former president had violated precautionary measures imposed on him by posting content on the social media channels of his three lawmaker sons. The trial of the far-right leader is receiving renewed attention after U.S. President Donald Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally's judicial situation. Trump has called the proceedings a ' witch hunt,' triggering nationalist reactions from leaders of all branches of power in Brazil, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Brazil's prosecutors accuse Bolsonaro of heading a criminal organization that plotted to overturn the election, including plans to kill Lula and Justice de Moraes after the far-right leader narrowly lost his reelection bid in 2022. Monday's order followed one from the top court last month that ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle monitor and imposed a curfew on his activities while the proceedings are underway. Following news of the arrest order, a staffer with Brazil's federal police told The Associated Press that federal agents had seized cell phones at Bolsonaro's residence in the capital of Brasilia, as ordered by de Moraes in his decision. The staffer spoke on condition of anonymity due to their lack of authorization to speak about the matter publicly. Bolsonaro is expected to remain in Brasilia for his house arrest as he is not allowed to travel. He also has a house in Rio de Janeiro, where he held his electoral base as a lawmaker for three decades. The former army captain is the fourth former president of Brazil to be arrested since the end of the country's military rule from 1964 to 1985, which Bolsonaro supported. The move from the Brazilian justice comes a day after tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters took the streets in the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio, pleading for Brazil's congress to pardon him and hundreds of others who are either under trial or jailed for their roles in the destruction of government buildings in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023. On Sunday, Bolsonaro addressed supporters in Rio through the phone of one of his sons, which de Moraes' described as illegal. 'The flagrant disrespect to the precautionary measures was so obvious that the defendant's son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, decided to remove the posting in his Instagram profile, with the objective of hiding the legal transgression,' de Moraes wrote. Lawyers for the former Brazilian president did not make comments after the decision. Flávio Bolsonaro claimed on X that Brazil 'is officially in a dictatorship' after his father's house arrest. 'The persecution of de Moraes against Bolsonaro has no limits!' the senator wrote. De Moraes added in his ruling that Jair Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, has spread messages with 'a clear content of encouragement and instigation to attacks against the Supreme Court and a blatant support for foreign intervention in the Brazilian Judiciary' — likely a veiled reference to Trump's support for Bolsonaro. De Moraes also said that Bolsonaro 'addressed protesters gathered in Copacabana, in Rio' on Sunday so his supporters could 'try to coerce the Supreme Court.' Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on de Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression and the ongoing trial of Bolsonaro. Creomar de Souza, a political analyst of Dharma Political Risk and Strategy, a political consultancy firm based in Brasilia, said Bolsonaro's house arrest opens a new moment for the country's opposition, which will could gather steam in fighting against Lula's reelection bid next year. Now, de Souza said, 'the 2026 election looks like turmoil' and the political debate in Brazil will likely be split between two key struggles. 'One is the effort of Bolsonaro supporters to keep strong on the right, no matter if it is pushing for amnesty in congress or putting themselves physically out there,' the analyst said. 'The second is how the Lula administration will try to show that the country has a government.' 'This is just the start,' he concluded. The latest decision from the top court keeps Bolsonaro under ankle monitoring, allows only family members and lawyers to visit him and seizes all mobile phones from his home. Lula was imprisoned for 580 days between 2018 and 2019 in a corruption conviction that was later tossed out by the Supreme Court, citing the bias of the judge in the case. Michel Temer, who became president after Dilma Rousseff was impeached in 2016, was arrested for 10 days in 2019 in connection with a graft investigation, which later ended without a conviction. Earlier this year, de Moraes ordered the detention of President Fernando Collor, who was in office from 1990 to 1992 until he was impeached. The 75-year-old former president was convicted for money laundering and corruption in 2023 and is now serving his more than eight-year sentence.
The Hindu
18 minutes ago
- The Hindu
U.S. could require up to $15,000 bonds for some tourist visas under pilot program
The U.S. State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a move that may make the process unaffordable for many. In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday (August 5, 2025), the Department said it would start a 12-month pilot program under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when they apply for a visa. The proposal comes as the Trump administration is tightening requirements for visa applicants. Last week, the U.S. State Department announced that many visa renewal applicants would have to submit to an additional in-person interview, something that was not required in the past. In addition, the department is proposing that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery program have valid passports from their country of citizenship. A preview of the bond notice, which was posted on the Federal Register website on Monday (August 4, 2025), said the pilot program would take effect within 15 days of its formal publication and is necessary to ensure that the U.S. Government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa. 'Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering citizenship by investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot program,' the notice said. The countries affected will be listed once the program takes effect, it said. The bond could be waived depending on an applicant's individual circumstances. The bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program, which enables travel for business or tourism for up to 90 days. The majority of the 42 countries enrolled in the program are in Europe, with others in Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere. Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have not been implemented. The State Department has traditionally discouraged the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and discharging a bond and because of a possible misperceptions by the public. However, the Department said that previous view 'is not supported by any recent examples or evidence, as visa bonds have not generally been required in any recent period.'
Mint
18 minutes ago
- Mint
Best stocks to buy today, 5 August, recommended by NeoTrader's Raja Venkatraman
The Indian stock market staged a broad-based rebound on Monday, August 4, snapping a two-day losing streak on the back of positive global cues and a softer US dollar. The Sensex climbed 419 points, or 0.52%, to close at 81,018.72, while the Nifty 50 advanced 157 points, or 0.64%, to settle at 24, market indices outperformed the benchmarks. The BSE Midcap index surged 1.11%, while the Smallcap index gained 0.76%. Here are three stocks to buy or sell as recommended by Raja Venkatraman of NeoTrader for Tuesday, 5 August: Stop loss: ₹2,840. Stock market recap | 4 August On Monday, 4 August, India's benchmark equity indices staged a strong rebound, with the Sensex climbing from its intraday low and the Nifty inching closer to the 24,700 mark. The Sensex ended 447.16 points higher at 81,047.06, while the Nifty closed at 24,726.90, up 161.55 points. The rally was driven by gains in metal and auto stocks, buoyed by positive regional cues and supportive currency dynamics. Auto stocks led the advance, with the Nifty Auto index rising 1.1% following upbeat quarterly earnings from TVS Motor Company and a 21% year-on-year jump in July dispatches for Hero MotoCorp, which gained over 2%. Metals also posted strong gains, with the Nifty Metal index up 1.6% as a weaker US dollar boosted the appeal of commodities among overseas buyers. Fourteen of the index's 15 constituents ended in the green. Sector heavyweights including Bharat Electronics, Tata Steel, Eicher Motors, and Hindalco rallied up to 4%, capping off a broad-based session that reflected resilient investor sentiment. Outlook for Trading Broader indices managed to absorb last week's profit booking, enabling a rebound. However, the recovery lacks conviction, with markets struggling to sustain upward momentum. Uncertainty around global cues—particularly the ongoing Trump tariff rhetoric—continues to inject volatility, keeping investors guessing about what's next. The rebound, partly supported by the RBI's monetary policy backdrop, helped lift sentiment temporarily, but intermittent declines have continued to test bullish resolve. Market momentum remains subdued, especially with persistent weakness in the Bank Nifty weighing on confidence. Since breaking below its trend channel, the index has faced sustained bearish pressure, suggesting further downside risk as we head into the final trading session of the week. As the Q1 earnings season gains pace, investor focus will remain on corporate results. In a market increasingly swayed by unpredictable, ad hoc triggers, volatility is likely to persist in the near term. Sentiment continues to swing, driven by a fast-changing landscape. This makes risk management more important than ever. That said, there is still visible value discovery in mid- and small-cap stocks, indicating pockets of bullishness. Meanwhile, the Trump tariff saga has kept global markets on edge. In the absence of clarity, the Nifty is likely to oscillate in a range between 24,500 and 25,000 in the coming days.
