Switzerland's president rushes to Washington in effort to avert steep US tariffs
President Karin Keller-Sutter was leading a delegation to the United States capital after last week's announcement that exports of Swiss goods to the U.S. will face a whopping 39% percent tariff starting Thursday.
That is over 2 1/2 times higher than the rate on European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S. Many Swiss companies in industries including watchmaking and chocolates have expressed concern about the issue.
The Swiss government said the trip was 'to facilitate meetings with the U.S. authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation for Switzerland.'
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Keller-Sutter, who also serves as Switzerland's finance minister, has faced criticism in Swiss media over a last-ditch call with President Donald Trump before a U.S. deadline on tariffs expired Aug. 1. She was leading a team that includes Economy Minister Guy Parmelin.
The trip comes a day after Switzerland's executive branch held an extraordinary meeting Monday during which it was 'keen to pursue talks with the United States on the tariff situation,' the government statement Tuesday said.
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The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Griggs passed away June 28 at Point Grey Private Hospital care home after battling dementia. He was 86 years old. Neil John Griggs was born on April 29, 1939 in Lahore, India, which is now part of Pakistan. His father was a doctor from rural Manitoba who moved to England. After marrying a British nurse, his dad went to work with the Indian Medical Service, an adjunct of the British army. The Second World War broke out while the Griggs family were in India, and they remained there throughout the war. They returned to England in 1946 and moved to Vancouver in the late 1950s. Griggs had a brief career in banking before enrolling at UBC in the 1960s, where he received a BA and MA in community planning. He joined the False Creek south project in 1973, which transformed a derelict industrial area into an internationally renowned residential neighbourhood. 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