Latest news with #CommerceDepartments
Mint
09-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
How Switzerland's Tariff Drama Swung From Hope to Despair
(Bloomberg) -- On July 4, as the US celebrated Independence Day, Switzerland's top circle of ministers also had reason to rejoice. They'd secured a deal to avoid punitive tariffs from Donald Trump — or so they thought. Three and a half weeks passed before Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter or anyone else in the cabinet realized things were about to go horribly wrong. When Trump announced his tariff verdict, Switzerland was handed the highest levies in the developed world. The shock hit just hours before the country's own national holiday on Aug. 1, prompting Keller-Sutter to make a last-ditch trip to Washington to rescue the situation. Instead, she was ghosted by the White House. 'We had, on the 4th of July if I recall, no signs that there would be a problem,' Vice President Guy Parmelin said on Thursday, the day a very different reality descended on Switzerland with the imposition of 39% tariffs — more than double the European Union's rate. The disastrous outcome brought home Switzerland's lack of leverage in an era of global instability and the misguidedness of trusting conventions when dealing with Trump. It leaves Swiss executives trying to figure out how to compete in the world's biggest market and voters wrestling with the future of the country's go-it-alone strategy. This account of how Switzerland went from 'the front of the queue' for a deal with the US to an economic nightmare is based on conversations with multiple people in Bern, Zurich and Washington, who requested anonymity describing private discussions. The Swiss government declined to comment on the details of the negotiations. The White House and Commerce Departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment and the Treasury Department declined to comment. On April 24, three weeks after Trump announced his sweeping tariffs on the world, Parmelin and Keller-Sutter met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington. Afterward, she announced that Switzerland was set to get 'somewhat preferential treatment.' At this point, the Swiss believed they were on firm ground with the US president, because of the small size of their economy and the fact that they abolished industrial tariffs. Switzerland could give Trump a quick win, an adviser on the Swiss side said at the time. And with Bessent and others, the often-fickle president was surrounded by people who understood the country wasn't problematic. The Swiss plan included concessions on some agricultural products and easier approvals for US medical devices. They also pointed to billion-dollar investments national pharma giants Roche Holding AG and Novartis AG have pledged. In return, they sought a 10% tariff and a pledge that Trump won't put punitive levies on medicines in his national-security investigations. In May and June, the office of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held more than 20 rounds of talks with the Swiss. Negotiations occurred frequently via video calls, sometimes even by WhatsApp. Bessent was looped in, and on June 23, Keller-Sutter had a phone call with him and said they're close to an agreement. A few days later, there was a draft. It contained a clause that Swiss drug makers would no longer seek to source certain ingredients from China. There's different understandings of what happened next. Some people said that Bessent, Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick signaled to Swiss negotiators that they'd support the accord in front of the president. Others said the US officials made clear to their Swiss counterparts they would simply brief the president on the positives and negatives of a potential deal but the final decision rested solely with Trump. The idea that there was a completed deal that US Cabinet Secretaries pushed to Trump is inaccurate, one of the people said. In Bern, Keller-Sutter and her fellow ministers still hadn't heard directly from Trump. But they decided to rely on the word of his ministers and gave their formal approval on US Independence Day. Keller-Sutter says that in late July Greer's office told Swiss negotiators that it would be helpful if she asked for a phone call with the US president. She did so. One person familiar with the matter said the Swiss decided on their own to call Trump. The conversation that changed everything for the Swiss started at 2 p.m. Washington time on July 31. After offering congratulations for Switzerland's national holiday the following day, Trump hit Keller-Sutter with an accusation: her nation was stealing from the US, he said, pointing out a trade deficit he rounded up to $40 billion. The Swiss were caught off guard as the bilateral balance hadn't come up in previous talks. They were comfortable they'd defused the issue by noting that the deficit in goods was almost completely offset by imports of services. They also highlighted that the country was the seventh-largest foreign investor in the US. On the phone, the Swiss president — a stoic politician not prone to dramatic gestures or punchy one-liners — took the stance that Switzerland stands by its word and the pre-negotiated draft accord. If there was disagreement, it was no deal over a bad deal. Two different narratives of the call have emerged. One portrays Keller-Sutter lecturing Trump and botching the encounter. The other suggests it was all show and Trump had made up his mind to hit Switzerland before picking up the phone. The truth might lie in the middle. Unlike some other leaders, Keller-Sutter is not one to opt for pomp and flattery, like NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has done to woo the US leader. 'We will not make promises we cannot keep,' Keller-Sutter told reporters when asked if she should have followed such a negotiating style. But Trump also may have wanted to make an example of Switzerland after facing criticism for caving in on tariffs, especially against big countries like China. 'The woman was nice, but she didn't want to listen,' Trump later told CNBC. On Aug. 1, Keller-Sutter tried to show a brave face. Speaking on the Rütli meadow — a field overlooking Lake Lucerne where, according to legend, Switzerland's founding fathers swore to protect each other from foreign powers — she said the nation can handle the crisis. 'Switzerland is used to storms,' Keller-Sutter told the crowd. 'I don't want to give this too much room today — this is our day, the day of the Swiss people.' Given the shock, that was a big ask, and critics quickly descended on the president, blaming her for not joining other countries in throwing Trump a token to allow him to claim victory, or at least having a Plan B. With just days before the start of tariffs on Thursday, the government focused on diplomacy rather than retaliation. Negotiators sought contact with US counterparts with an improved offer. Options ranged from extended investment pledges to purchases of US defense goods and liquefied natural gas. On Tuesday, with two days to go, Keller-Sutter made a surprise trip to Washington. But it was a desperate attempt. As her plane took off from Dübendorf Air Base near Zurich, she had no invitation to meet Trump. She returned empty handed after only a courtesy meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who doesn't lead negotiations on trade deals. It was her only official encounter with the US administration. One hour before her plane landed back in Switzerland, the tariff kicked in and the storm started to unfold. Swiss companies initiated emergency plans to relocate production elsewhere to avoid the levies or pause deliveries to the US. While the Swiss government is keeping a delegation in Washington to pursue concessions, the steadfast faith on the country's exceptionalism is now broken. 'In negotiations, such breaks can happen,' Keller-Sutter told reporters. 'One has to live with that and carry on.' --With assistance from Jordan Fabian and Catherine Lucey. More stories like this are available on
CNBC
26-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Trump now wields sweeping veto power over U.S. Steel. Here's how the 'golden share' works
President Donald Trump now personally holds sweeping veto power over U.S. Steel's decisions in key areas, according to an amended corporate charter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. U.S. Steel says Trump holds what the White House calls a "golden share" in the Pittsburgh-based company. The amended charter, however, does not reference future presidents. Instead, it says the veto power passes to the Treasury and Commerce Departments as representatives of the U.S. government after Trump leaves office, according to the SEC filing. Trump approved the controversial merger of U.S. Steel with Japan's Nippon Steel on June 13, after the companies signed a national security agreement with the U.S. and accepted the "golden share" arrangement. Trump opposed the deal in the runup to the 2024 president election. Trump's direct involvement in measures to address the government's national security concerns is unprecedented, said Stephen Heifetz, a lawyer who previously served on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the agency that reviewed the U.S.-Nippon deal. But it is also, arguably, all for appearances sake, Heifetz said. The Treasury and Commerce Departments, which will exercise the "golden share" after Trump leaves office, are arms of the executive and work for the U.S. president, Hefeitz said. "We have a golden share, which I control, or president controls," Trump told reporters at the White House on June 12. "Now I'm a little concerned, whoever the president might be, but that gives you total control." The golden share gives Trump, and later the Treasury and Commerce Departments, veto power over the following business decisions at U.S. Steel, according to the SEC filing: United Steelworkers International President David McCall said Trump, through the golden share, "has assumed a startling degree of personal power over a corporation." The White House didn't immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. Trump avoided calling the deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon a merger or acquisition, describing it instead as a "partnership." But U.S. Steel is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel North America, and its shares stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 18 when the deal closed. U.S. Steel is scheduled to be formally delisted from the exchange on June 30.
Gulf News
05-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf News
Trump says ‘big progress' after talks with Japan on tariff deal
President Donald Trmp said negotiators made 'big progress' after a meeting with a Japanese delegation on Wednesday aimed at securing a deal that would avoid higher levies he has threatened against US trading partners. 'A Great Honor to have just met with the Japanese Delegation on Trade. Big Progress,' Trump wrote in a post to his Truth Social network. Trump earlier in the day had said he would personally attend the talks, which were led by the US Treasury and Commerce Departments. Japan's economic revitalisation minister Ryosei Akazawa arrived in Washington to conduct the negotiations. Foreign capitals are racing to negotiate deals with the US to avert high import taxes Trump imposed — and then quickly paused — on about 60 trading partners. The negotiations with Japan are being closely watched, offering a test case for other nations uncertain over what concessions Trump will seek to extract in exchange for trade agreements. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Japan, a military ally, will likely be prioritised as the US deals with a flood of nations all looking to cut their own deals.
Japan Times
16-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Trump cites ‘big progress' after talks with Japan on tariff deal
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiators made "big progress' after a meeting with a Japanese delegation on Wednesday aimed at securing a deal that would avoid higher levies he has threatened against trading partners. "A Great Honor to have just met with the Japanese Delegation on Trade. Big Progress,' Trump wrote in a post to his Truth Social network. Trump earlier in the day had said he would personally attend the talks, which were led by the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments. Japan's economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa arrived in Washington to conduct the negotiations. Foreign capitals are racing to negotiate deals with the U.S. to avert high import taxes Trump imposed — and then quickly paused — on about 60 trading partners. The negotiations with Japan are being closely watched, offering a test case for other nations uncertain over what concessions Trump will seek to extract in exchange for trade agreements. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Japan, a military ally, will likely be prioritized as the U.S. deals with a flood of nations all looking to cut their own deals. Bessent has said he envisions reaching agreements with Japan and other military allies to develop a collective effort to apply economic pressure on China.
Chicago Tribune
07-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
President Trump signs executive order to establish government bitcoin reserve
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a government reserve of bitcoin, a key marker in the cryptocurrency's journey towards possible mainstream acceptance. Under Trump's new order, the U.S. government will retain the estimated 200,000 bitcoin it's already seized in criminal and civil proceedings, according to Trump's 'crypto czar' David Sacks. 'The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called 'digital gold,'' Sacks said on social media. The executive order calls for a 'full accounting' of the government's bitcoin holdings, which Sacks said have never been fully audited. He added that the U.S. government has previously sold off about 195,000 bitcoin over the last decade for $366 million. He said those bitcoins would be worth about $17 billion if the government hadn't sold them. Sacks said the order allows for the Treasury and Commerce Departments 'to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin.' Once a skeptic who said a few years ago that bitcoin ' seems like a scam,' Trump has embraced digital currencies and leaned into his unofficial role as the ' crypto president ' in ways that can both help the crypto industry and enrich himself and his family. Wealthy players in the crypto industry, who felt unfairly targeted by the Biden administration, spent heavily to help Trump win last year's election. Establishing a bitcoin reserve was one of several crypto-related promises Trump made on the campaign trail last year. Trump is also pushing Congress to pass industry-friendly legislation, and under his administration the Securities and Exchange Commission has started dropping enforcement actions it had taken against some major crypto companies. On Friday, Trump is set to host many key industry leaders at a White House 'Crypto Summit.' Bitcoin is the oldest and most popular cryptocurrency. Created in response to the 2008 financial crisis by an anonymous person or persons, bitcoin has blossomed from an experiment by libertarian cryptography enthusiasts into an asset with a market cap of about $1.7 trillion. While it hasn't taken off as a way to pay for everyday things, bitcoin has found popularity as a store of value that's not controlled by banks, governments or other powerful entities. Bitcoin's supply is capped at 21 million coins, a built-in scarcity that supporters say makes it a great hedge against inflation. Critics have long said bitcoin lacks any inherent value, but it's so far defied naysayers with remarkable price increases. Some supporters of a strategic bitcoin reserve said it could one day help pay off the U.S. national debt. Crypto prices soared after Trump's victory last year, and when the price of bitcoin first crossed $100,000 in early December, Trump took credit and posted 'YOU'RE WELCOME!!!' on social media. But prices have since cooled off. Trump's executive order did not equate to an immediate price spike for bitcoin, which was trading around $86,000 shortly after his announcement. The executive order also creates a 'U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile,' where the government will hold seized cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. On Sunday, Trump sent crypto prices on a short-lived surge after a surprise announcement that he wanted the government to hold lesser-known cryptocurrencies XRP, solana and cardano.
