Swiss leader says that the Trump administration held ‘privileged’ conversation with 15 countries on American tariffs

Geneva: The Swiss President says that Switzerland is one of the 15 countries with the United States plan to have a “privileged” interaction to help do dozens of countries to reach a deal in view of broadening American tariffs on dozens of countries that have shaken global markets.
Karin KellerIn an interview published on Friday with Broadcaster SRF, she said she was “satisfied” with a conversation in Washington this week, including an International Monetary Fund Conference and one of her meetings with American Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. Kellers also serve as the Finance Minister of Switzerland.
“The United States has defined a group of 15 countries with which it wants to find … a quick solution in this tariff question. Switzerland is part of this group of these 15 countries,” he told reporters late on Thursday night in Washington.
It was not immediately clear that 14 other countries were included, but he told the SRF that “there is a hypothesis to operate the US, I would say some privileged, interactions and solutions with that group”.
Before the Trump administration stopped some of its most tight tariff plans, imported products from Switzerland were set to face 31% tariffs, more than 20% tariffs on goods from the European Union. Switzerland is not a member of 27 country blocks.
According to data published by the Swiss Embassy in Washington, the US has been the world’s most important freight export market since 2021, while Switzerland is the fourth most important export market for American services. The embassy stated that the quantity of bilateral trade in goods and services between Switzerland and the US reached $ 185.9 billion in 2023, the embassy said on its website.
Keller-Satear said that a memorandum of understanding was to be prepared, after which the conversation could begin. A document will also exclude the most important topics, and “we are also assigned a specific contact person. It is not easy in US administration,” he was said to be.
“US officials clearly expressed a desire to find a solution with Switzerland,” Keller-Sater told the SRF. He said that no timetable was set, but both sides agreed to move forward quickly “because uncertainty is poison for the economy.”
Trump’s broad “Liberation Day” tariff established the upheaval in the world stock markets on 2 April. A week later, Trump in a conversation spoke on the phone with Keller-Sawar that his office focused on tariffs. He emphasized “the important role of Swiss companies and investments” in the US
Hours later, Trump announced a U-turn, which stopped the new tariffs standing at about 60 countries for 90 days, fanning speculation that was not confirmed, some in Swiss media that his chat with Trump would definitely play a role in change.
On Thursday, Swiss External Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis said during a visit to Beijing that the US tariffs have impressed the affected countries in a “coalition” to try to reach a deal with the United States. And on Monday, Swiss pharmaceuticals veteran Rosha announced a plan to invest $ 50 billion in the US in the next five years, of which an unspent amount is already running.