Swiss open to Federer or FIFA chief helping on US tariffs
Some Swiss politicians have proposed their countryman Infantino as an informal negotiating channel with US President Donald Trump after the US leader attended the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey in July. Trump is also a fan of celebrities and could be swayed by an approach by Federer, Swiss media has reported.
"If personalities who know him have a conversation with him, we're not against it," Keller-Sutter told broadcaster Tele Zueri, when asked about Infantino or Federer speaking with Trump.
"That's not a strategy we can officially pursue," she said, adding negotiations with Washington would be led by the government. "I don't know if that would actually help in the end."
Switzerland has been left stunned by the 39% import levy - among the highest of any applied under Trump's global trade reset, which went into effect last week.
Earlier in May, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa included popular golfers in his delegation that travelled to Washington hoping to discuss trade and reset strained relations with the US During a tense White House meeting Trump confronted him with false claims of white genocide and land seizures.
Keller-Sutter said she hoped talks to cut US tariffs on Swiss exports could be settled by October, but warned Switzerland would not pay "any price" after an earlier agreement was brushed aside by Trump in a phone call between the two leaders on July 31.
"The Federal Council is naturally striving to find a solution that will reduce customs tariffs," Keller-Sutter said. "I hope that is true," she said when asked about US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments that trade issues could be resolved by October.
The tariff was unjustified and must be reduced, she said, noting that Swiss companies were investing heavily in the US. "It cannot be that, to put it simply, we just pay, worsen our business location and then still have high customs duties," she said.
Still, Switzerland was a small country with no political power, which meant its leeway was limited, Keller-Sutter said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
Washington attorney general sues Trump administration over police takeover
The attorney general for the US capital, Washington DC, has sued Donald Trump's administration on Friday, August 15, over what he called a "hostile takeover" of the city's police force, which the Republican president said was necessary to fight violent crime. Earlier this week, Trump placed the capital's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal government control while also sending 800 National Guard troops onto the city's streets. Attorney General Pam Bondi then issued an order to install a hand-picked official, Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terry Cole, as "emergency" police commissioner on Thursday. Federal law governing the capital "does not authorize this brazen usurpation of the District's authority over its own government," Attorney General Brian Schwalb wrote in a filing lodged in federal court. "Defendants have unlawfully seized operational control of MPD, including by assuming positions in the chain of command and issuing policy directives to MPD." "By declaring a hostile takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its limited, temporary authority under the Home Rule Act, infringing on the District's right to self-governance and putting the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk," Schwalb said in a statement on social media. "This is an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home." Schwalb has asked for a temporary restraining order on Bondi's order, and for the court to declare that Trump's executive order exceeds his authority over the District of Columbia. A hearing has been set for 2:00 pm local time (1800 GMT). Special status Unlike the 50 states, Washington operates under a unique relationship with the federal government that limits its autonomy and grants Congress extraordinary control over local matters. Since the mid-1970s, the Home Rule Act has allowed residents to elect a mayor and a city council, although Congress still controls the city's budget. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said late Thursday that "there is no statute that conveys the District's personnel authority to a federal official." The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged. Yet Washington police data show significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, although that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge. Bowser said earlier this week that violent crime was "at its lowest level in 30 years." Washington is also ranked 15 th on a list of major US cities by homeless population, according to government statistics from last year. Trump, meanwhile, has said he wants to tackle homeless encampments, and move those sleeping rough "FAR from the Capital." On his Truth Social platform, Trump this week described Washington as "under siege from thugs and killers," with higher crime rates than "many of the most violent Third World Countries."
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Pushing Kyiv to give up land 'will force Ukrainians to the streets'
A possible deal to end Russia's war against Ukraine will include 'land swapping' from both sides, US President Donald Trump said, which in reality means territorial concessions for Ukraine. Kyiv forces do not occupy any of Russia's territory, meaning there could be no deal regarding returning Moscow its land. All of the land in question is the territory Russia has occupied in Ukraine since the first invasion in 2014 followed by Moscow's all-out war in 2022. If Trump pressures Ukraine to relinquish its territory, he would not be convincing Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Instead, he will have to persuade the people of Ukraine. And unlike Trump, Zelenskyy understands who will have the last word, just as he knows that even he cannot convince the Ukrainian people of what they reject. The county's civil society demonstrated it well enough, including just weeks ago. Anton Liagusha, Dean of the Graduate Department of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Kyiv School of Economics, told Euronews that if Ukrainian authorities are pressured into territorial concessions, 'it will force the Ukrainian people to take to the streets.' 'This will not so much be a story of protest against the authorities, but a cry from the Ukrainian people to the whole world to be treated as a great country in the centre of Europe, and not just viewed by the US as a piece of land," Liagusha said. "Ukrainians are a full-fledged nation, and Ukraine is a great state with its own legislation.' Liagusha explained that ever since Ukraine became an independent county, the society has clearly established its decisive power when 'during the Revolution of Dignity (in 2014), and before that the Orange Revolution (in 2004) and before that the Revolution on Granite in 1991, we saw that people do not accept power in terms of authoritarianism and clear hierarchy.' 'The president in Ukrainian society is not a king, meaning that his will does not determine the will of the entire Ukrainian people," he pointed out. 'We all hear what society says' Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in early 2022, this balance of power has crystallised even more clearly 'when we see in Ukrainian society that almost every family has been affected by this war, directly or indirectly," according to Liagusha. 'People are fighting against the aggressor, for democracy, and for our country to become a member of the European Union and be part of Europe," he said. And so, whatever decisions are made with the participation of the president, it means that these decisions can be confirmed by Ukrainian society through direct street demonstrations.' This was proven yet again in July when thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets to protest against the bill that could have effectively eliminated the independence of the country's anti-corruption institutions. Thousands of Ukrainians demonstrated until Zelenskyy proposed a new bill only days later to restore the independence of the anti-corruption bodies. Nationwide protests forced the government to overturn the initial bill in a move widely seen as a win for democracy in Ukraine, even during Russia's all-out war. Demonstrators made it clear that their anger was directed solely at the bill, and their demands were limited to restoring the independence of anti-corruption bodies. But after three revolutions in just over 30 years, one of which resulted in ousting the pro-Russian Victor Yanukovich in 2014, Ukrainian presidents and authorities are very sensitive to the voice of the street. Having signed a new bill, Zelenskyy himself said, 'We all hear what society says. We see what people expect from state institutions to ensure justice and the efficiency of each institution.' Zelenskyy surely knows what to expect from Ukrainian civil society should there be pressure to cede territories. But Ukraine's foreign partners, specifically the US, do not seem to comprehend it. When asked why, Liagusha said the reasons can be explained by the level of comfort of life. 'Life in the United States and many European countries is more or less stable and comfortable," he explained. "These societies have long lacked experience with large-scale protests and the high level of activity seen in Ukrainian civil society.' Liagusha also points out that Western democracies primarily view Ukrainian civil society as self-organised groups of people that are created or organised to solve specific tactical problems and issues. 'There is no understanding that the volunteer movement, civil society for the protection of human rights, and activists in various fields are truly such a society and are the creators of the new Ukrainian state.'
Fashion Network
5 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Why Swatch is facing tough times
The Swatch brand is credited with having saved a Swiss watch industry that had been laid low by the so-called quartz revolution. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, these less expensive and more accurate watches from an ascendant Japan upended European mechanical watchmaking. Swatch's response? Tap into the '80s zeitgeist with colourful, low-priced designs—funky, artistic, eclectic and made for collectors along with a whole new demographic that saw them as fashion, not function. Swatch used its skyrocketing revenue to support its more staid, traditional brands while acquiring new ones. But fast forward to today, and the market's changed: phones and smartwatches have undercut low-cost watches, leaving luxury as the main engine for growth. And a new set of problems, from low sales in China to Donald Trump 's tariffs, have made matters even worse. The luxury spending slowdown in China has hurt all brands, but Swatch got hit more than most, given that 27% of its 2024 sales were attributable to the Asian nation. While the company said last month that sales data now show a possible turnaround, any recovery in China is expected to be slow. Meanwhile, Trump's radical imposition of a 39% tariff on imports from Switzerland puts high-end watch brands in a corner, since they can't raise prices much more in the current environment. Simultaneously, investors have been calling out Swatch, urging it to capitalise on the still-lucrative high-end segment. Steven Wood, founder and chief investment officer of New York-based GreenWood Investors, even mounted a campaign to win a seat on Swatch's board. He was defeated, but his intervention may underline the frustration among investors worried about the company's future. The Hayek family, which controls more than 40% of Swatch voting rights, has pushed back by saying it shouldn't just be making watches for the wealthy. To be sure, Swatch managed some mainstream success as recently as 2022, with the MoonSwatch. The quartz-driven timepiece leaned on the heritage and look of the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, an iconic watch worn on Apollo moon missions. Swatch sold more than a million of them that year, but it's struggled to generate the same sort of buzz across the rest of the group.
