Latest news with #SwissPeople'sParty
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Swiss to seek more talks with US as 'horror' tariffs kick in
BERN, Switzerland: The Swiss government said it would pursue more talks with the United States after a last-gasp mission to Washington failed to stop a 39-per cent tariff blow that businesses described as a "horror scenario". The government held an emergency meeting after President Karin Keller-Sutter and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin returned home from their trip empty-handed but said it does not plan to retaliate for now. Keller-Sutter said in a press conference that Swiss officials were still in Washington to hold talks that are crucial for industries ranging from watchmaking to industrial machines, cheese and chocolate. "We want a rule-based relationship with the United States... but not at any price," she said. She said it was hard to know how long the situation would last, as "the final decision rests with the US president". Trump blindsided the Swiss last week when he announced that the country would be hit by one of the highest tariffs among new duties on imports from dozens of economies that took effect on Thursday. The Swiss rate was higher than Trump's previous threat of a 31-percent tariff. Keller-Sutter rushed to the US capital with a small delegation earlier this week to seek a friendlier levy, but she only secured a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who does not oversee tariff policy. After Wednesday's meeting, Keller-Sutter spoke only of "a very friendly and open exchange on common issues". In a statement after its extraordinary meeting on Thursday, the Swiss government said it "remains firmly committed to pursuing discussions with the US with the aim of reducing these tariffs as swiftly as possible". "At present, tariff countermeasures in response to the US tariff increases are not being considered, as they would impose additional costs on the Swiss economy -- particularly through higher prices for imports from the United States," it added. Parmelin said later that any retaliatory measures "would also have financial consequences for the Swiss economy", adding that ratcheting trade tensions higher with the United States is not in Switzerland's interest. "The best, I think, is that both parties find an acceptable solution." The tariff jeopardises entire sectors of the export-heavy Swiss economy, notably watchmaking and industrial machinery, but also chocolate and cheese. Some politicians have suggested that football governing body FIFA's Swiss president Gianni Infantino, who has struck up a friendship with Trump, should be recruited to help Switzerland. Infantino is "the right man for the situation", Roland Rino Buechel, a lawmaker of the hard-right Swiss People's Party, told SRF television. He said the FIFA boss is "the person in Switzerland with the best access to the American president". Swiss businesses worry that competitors in other wealthy economies will have an edge, with the European Union and Japan having negotiated a 15-percent tariff and Britain securing a rate of 10 percent. "The horror scenario materializes," Swissmem, the association of the mechanical and electrical engineering industry, said in a statement. "If this horrendous tariff burden remains in place, it will mean the de facto death of the export business of the Swiss tech industry to the USA -- in particular given the much lower tariffs for competitors in the EU and Japan." The group urged the government to continue to negotiate with the United States, "even if the chances of success currently appear to be slim". Economiesuisse, the federation of Swiss businesses representing some 100,000 companies, warned that the tariffs "put thousands of jobs at serious risk". Capital Economics, a London-based research group, said the tariffs could reduce Swiss GDP by 0.6 percent in the medium term. Trump justified his action by the fact that Switzerland has a trade surplus of tens of billions of dollars with the United States. Nearly 19 percent of Swiss goods exports went to the United States last year, according to customs data. Switzerland's pharmaceutical industry, a major exporter, has been exempt so far but Trump has announced plans for tariffs on that sector too. Switzerland has argued that the United States enjoys a significant services trade surplus and that most American industrial goods enter Switzerland tariff-free. - AFP
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Swiss to seek more talks with US as 'horror' tariffs kick in
The Swiss government said Thursday it would pursue more talks with the United States after a last-gasp mission to Washington failed to stop a 39-percent tariff blow that businesses described as a "horror scenario". The government held an emergency meeting after President Karin Keller-Sutter and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin returned home from their trip empty-handed but it does not plan to retaliate for now. Keller-Sutter said in a press conference that Swiss officials were still in Washington to hold talks that are crucial for industries ranging from watchmaking to industrial machines, cheese and chocolate. "We want a rule-based relationship with the United States... but not at any price," she said. She said it is hard to know how long the situation will last, as "the final decision rests with the US president". Trump blindsided the Swiss last week when he announced that the country would be hit by one of the highest tariffs among new duties on imports from dozens of economies that took effect on Thursday. The Swiss rate was higher than Trump's previous threat of a 31-percent tariff. Keller-Sutter rushed to the US capital with a small delegation earlier this week to seek a friendlier levy, but she only secured a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who does not oversee tariff policy. After Wednesday's meeting, Keller-Sutter spoke only of "a very friendly and open exchange on common issues". In a statement after its extraordinary meeting on Thursday, the Swiss government said it "remains firmly committed to pursuing discussions with the US with the aim of reducing these tariffs as swiftly as possible". "At present, tariff countermeasures in response to the US tariff increases are not being considered, as they would impose additional costs on the Swiss economy –- particularly through higher prices for imports from the United States," it added. - FIFA super sub? - The tariff jeopardises entire sectors of the export-heavy Swiss economy, notably watchmaking and industrial machinery, but also chocolate and cheese. Some politicians have suggested that FIFA's Swiss president Gianni Infantino, who has struck a friendship with Trump, should be recruited to help Switzerland. Infantino is "the right man for the situation", Roland Rino Buechel, a lawmaker of the hard-right Swiss People's Party, told SRF television. He said the FIFA boss is "the person in Switzerland with the best access to the American president". - 'Horrendous tariff burden' - Swiss businesses worry that competitors in other wealthy economies will have an edge, with the European Union and Japan having negotiated a 15-percent tariff and Britain securing a rate of 10 percent. "The horror scenario materializes," Swissmem, the association of the mechanical and electrical engineering industry, said in a statement. "If this horrendous tariff burden remains in place, it will mean the de facto death of the export business of the Swiss tech industry to the USA -- in particular given the much lower tariffs for competitors in the EU and Japan." The group urged the government to continue to negotiate with the United States, "even if the chances of success currently appear to be slim". Economiesuisse, the federation of Swiss businesses representing some 100,000 companies, warned that the tariffs "put thousands of jobs at serious risk". Capital Economics, a London-based research group, said the tariffs could reduce Swiss GDP by 0.6 percent in the medium term. Trump justified his action by the fact that Switzerland has a trade surplus of tens of billions of dollars with the United States. Nearly 19 percent of Swiss goods exports went to the United States last year, according to customs data. Switzerland's pharmaceutical industry, a major exporter, has been exempt so far but Trump has announced plans for tariffs on the sector. Switzerland has argued that the United States enjoys a significant services trade surplus and that most American industrial goods enter Switzerland tariff-free. vog/noo/lth/rl Sign in to access your portfolio
Fashion Network
6 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Switzerland's US tariff blow threatens its go-it-alone approach
The two-minute video isn't subtle. Wielding a medieval halberd, the president of the conservative Swiss People's Party lays out the choice Switzerland faces: a simpler life that the country's founders spelled out in a one-page declaration more than 700 years ago or a 2,000 page treaty with the European Union. It's a choice between 'freedom and serfdom,' Marcel Dettling says before tossing the treaty documents onto a bonfire. The trouble for Dettling and Switzerland's other EU naysayers is that the alternative vision of a nimble nation trading freely with the rest of the world isn't looking so good anymore. On the day the video was released — Aug. 1, Switzerland's national day — the White House delivered a bombshell by announcing the country would face tariffs of 39% on all exports to the US, among the highest anywhere in the world. President Karin Keller-Sutter is traveling to Washington on Tuesday as she and her colleagues race to get Donald Trump to reconsider. They don't have much time, with the levies due to kick in on Thursday. Helene Budliger-Artieda, one of the chief negotiators for Switzerland, held a phone call with business representatives on Monday. She told them that Switzerland's main goal is to get the overall tariff number down, but didn't reveal any potential concessions it might make, according to people briefed on the call. Budliger also received a clear message from businesses: there's no substitute for the US market. While the Swiss try to figure out how to deal with Trump and the US, the episode has cast a new light on the country's relationship with the EU. That's long been a divisive issue, with arguments about trade and economic benefits clashing with concern about immigration and sovereignty. For the pro-EU voices, the chaotic back and forth with the US will give them fresh reason to push the benefits of ties with the bloc, particularly as it secured a far better 15% rate. 'This will undoubtedly strengthen the camp of those who argue that Switzerland needs to move closer to the EU,' said Rene Schwok, a professor of political science at the University of Geneva. 'Their argument is that the EU is a much more reliable partner than the US and China.' Keller-Sutter and her officials had expressed confidence right up until late last week that they'd secured a far better deal with the US. But it all fell apart at the end during a phone call with Trump. Critics say she didn't have anything to offer and came unprepared to the negotiation table. The US president sees his country's 39 billion dollar trade deficit with Switzerland as tantamount to theft, and didn't appreciate being told otherwise by Keller-Sutter. 'I don't believe that the US is a reliable partner under this presidency,' Andri Silberschmidt, a Liberal lawmaker and member of Keller-Sutter's party, told Bloomberg. 'As a small nation, we are dependent on reliable partners who abide by agreements.' Switzerland is in the midst of a separate debate on an agreement with the EU that it hammered out late last year and is due to go to a national vote. In a survey – conducted before Trump's self-declared Liberation Day announcement on tariffs — 47% of Swiss respondents were in favour, while 35% were against it. To be sure, Switzerland's low unemployment, low inflation economy is robust enough that it could withstand the 39% tariff hit. If pharmaceutical exports were included at the unchanged rate, this would translate to a hit of at least 0.7-percentage point hit to the economy, according to Hans Gersbach at KOF economic research institute in Zurich. If drug exports were excluded, the hit would be between 0.3 and 0.6 percentage points. That would be a harsh blow but not enough to tip the economy into recession. Still, that would jeopardise 'tens of thousands of jobs' in key manufacturing industries, said Stefan Brupbacher, director of trade group Swissmem. However Keller-Sutter's last-minute bid in Washington works out, the lesson for Switzerland is that it needs to realise it's not in the same league as the US, China or the EU but a small player. This may push the Swiss to reconsider the advantages of 'splendid isolation,' Kirkegaard said. 'When the elephants are dancing, the mice get trampled and that's a little bit of what's happened here.'
Fashion Network
6 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Switzerland's US tariff blow threatens its go-it-alone approach
The two-minute video isn't subtle. Wielding a medieval halberd, the president of the conservative Swiss People's Party lays out the choice Switzerland faces: a simpler life that the country's founders spelled out in a one-page declaration more than 700 years ago or a 2,000 page treaty with the European Union. It's a choice between 'freedom and serfdom,' Marcel Dettling says before tossing the treaty documents onto a bonfire. The trouble for Dettling and Switzerland's other EU naysayers is that the alternative vision of a nimble nation trading freely with the rest of the world isn't looking so good anymore. On the day the video was released — Aug. 1, Switzerland's national day — the White House delivered a bombshell by announcing the country would face tariffs of 39% on all exports to the US, among the highest anywhere in the world. President Karin Keller-Sutter is traveling to Washington on Tuesday as she and her colleagues race to get Donald Trump to reconsider. They don't have much time, with the levies due to kick in on Thursday. Helene Budliger-Artieda, one of the chief negotiators for Switzerland, held a phone call with business representatives on Monday. She told them that Switzerland's main goal is to get the overall tariff number down, but didn't reveal any potential concessions it might make, according to people briefed on the call. Budliger also received a clear message from businesses: there's no substitute for the US market. While the Swiss try to figure out how to deal with Trump and the US, the episode has cast a new light on the country's relationship with the EU. That's long been a divisive issue, with arguments about trade and economic benefits clashing with concern about immigration and sovereignty. For the pro-EU voices, the chaotic back and forth with the US will give them fresh reason to push the benefits of ties with the bloc, particularly as it secured a far better 15% rate. 'This will undoubtedly strengthen the camp of those who argue that Switzerland needs to move closer to the EU,' said Rene Schwok, a professor of political science at the University of Geneva. 'Their argument is that the EU is a much more reliable partner than the US and China.' Keller-Sutter and her officials had expressed confidence right up until late last week that they'd secured a far better deal with the US. But it all fell apart at the end during a phone call with Trump. Critics say she didn't have anything to offer and came unprepared to the negotiation table. The US president sees his country's 39 billion dollar trade deficit with Switzerland as tantamount to theft, and didn't appreciate being told otherwise by Keller-Sutter. 'I don't believe that the US is a reliable partner under this presidency,' Andri Silberschmidt, a Liberal lawmaker and member of Keller-Sutter's party, told Bloomberg. 'As a small nation, we are dependent on reliable partners who abide by agreements.' Switzerland is in the midst of a separate debate on an agreement with the EU that it hammered out late last year and is due to go to a national vote. In a survey – conducted before Trump's self-declared Liberation Day announcement on tariffs — 47% of Swiss respondents were in favour, while 35% were against it. To be sure, Switzerland's low unemployment, low inflation economy is robust enough that it could withstand the 39% tariff hit. If pharmaceutical exports were included at the unchanged rate, this would translate to a hit of at least 0.7-percentage point hit to the economy, according to Hans Gersbach at KOF economic research institute in Zurich. If drug exports were excluded, the hit would be between 0.3 and 0.6 percentage points. That would be a harsh blow but not enough to tip the economy into recession. Still, that would jeopardise 'tens of thousands of jobs' in key manufacturing industries, said Stefan Brupbacher, director of trade group Swissmem. However Keller-Sutter's last-minute bid in Washington works out, the lesson for Switzerland is that it needs to realise it's not in the same league as the US, China or the EU but a small player. This may push the Swiss to reconsider the advantages of 'splendid isolation,' Kirkegaard said. 'When the elephants are dancing, the mice get trampled and that's a little bit of what's happened here.'
Forbes
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Climate Change Deniers Are Switching Tactics
Coal-fired power station with smoking chimneys. Climate misinformation has shifted focus, moving away from denying that climate change is happening, and instead working to cast doubt on proposed solutions. An analysis of thousands of academic papers on climate misinformation published over the last ten years by the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) has revealed that complete denialism is on the wane. However, it showed, misinformation is rife when it comes to the effectiveness, costs or fairness of mitigation measures. Fossil fuel companies, along with associated political groups and think tanks, are carrying out sophisticated campaigns that sow doubt about climate solutions, the research found. Key targets include political leaders, civil servants and regulatory agencies, in efforts to delay climate policy, with automated and coordinated bots playing a central role. "Climate misinformation is being amplified by institutions with the power to shape narratives and suppress inconvenient truths", said Dr Ece Elbeyi, lead author of the report. "As long as these actors continue to manipulate the flow of information, the prospects for effective and equitable climate action will remain dangerously out of reach." The fossil fuel industry, said the report, has been denying the reality of climate change, denying or distorting scientific facts, while also casting doubt on proposed solutions. Meanwhile, other business sectors have been shifting to the same tactics. While, for example, American electric utility companies were primarily denying or sowing doubt about climate change between 1990 and 2000, they are now obstructing and delaying solutions, while trying to shift the responsibility for climate change to other sectors of society. Researchers have documented extensive organized collaboration between fossil fuel companies, states and political actors. In Europe, meanwhile, studies have found right wing populist parties to be actively working against mitigation measures, with the Swiss People's Party, for example, trying to obstruct the transition to renewable energy, arguing that this imposes an excessive economic burden on the country. And, said the researchers, individual politicians are working to discredit climate solutions too. "Based on a network analysis of 7.3 million tweets, one study identified U.S. president Donald Trump as the key influencer of the network, whose logical fallacies, unfounded claims, and cherry-picking of findings were heavily retweeted by other users", the researchers said. A comparative analysis of the rhetoric of U.S. political parties showed that while Democrats presented scientific facts, Republicans tend to rely on anecdotes and storytelling - both more persuasive and more difficult to refute, they said. Skepticism may be gradually taking precedence over denial globally, with a variety of messages questioning the relevance, feasibility, and effectiveness of potential solutions. Russia, for example, has been labeling EU policies of transitioning to renewable energy sources as "hypocritical' and 'politically motivated,' and even claiming that renewables are harmful to nature. "We are dealing with an information environment that has been deliberately distorted", said Dr Klaus Bruhn Jensen, professor at the University of Copenhagen. "When corporations, governments, and media platforms obscure climate realities, the result is paralysis. Addressing the climate emergency therefore demands not only policy reform, but an unflinching reckoning with systems that spread and sustain falsehoods."
