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In April, US President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 31% on imported goods from Switzerland. These were later raised to 39%. The new rate has been agreed at 15%.<\/p>\n
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The Swiss media has breathed a collective sigh of relief following the announcement of a framework trade agreement on Friday that includes Washington slashing its tariffs on imported Swiss products to 15% from 39% and a pledge by Swiss companies to invest $200 billion in the US by the end of 2028. But newspaper editorials highlight the high price Switzerland paid to secure the deal.\n<\/p>\n
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November 15, 2025 – 11:58\n<\/p>\n
+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThank you President Trump,\u201d wrote 24 Heures and Tribune de Gen\u00e8ve, quoting a tweet posted by the Swiss government on Friday on the social media platform X after the deal was announced. \u201cLike our European neighbours, our country can finally rejoice in the fact that it will \u2018only\u2019 be taxed at 15%, at the cost of major economic concessions,\u201d they declared.<\/p>\n But this \u201cthank you\u201d just confirms what the whole world already knows, say the papers: \u201cSwitzerland has been slow to understand: Donald Trump sets the rules.\u201d They also talk of the \u201clong diplomatic lapses of our Federal Council\u201d, which \u201cwill have been slow to get up to speed and decipher the American president\u2019s compass, his erratic and brutal policy\u201d.<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Foreign Affairs\n <\/p>\n Switzerland secures US tariff rate cut to 15% <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Nov 14, 2025 <\/p>\n The United States will cut its tariffs on goods from Switzerland to 15% from 39% under a new framework trade agreement. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: Switzerland secures US tariff rate cut to 15% A Pyrrhic victory<\/p>\n The French-language Le Temps welcomed the fact that the agreement now enables Swiss companies to compete on equal footing with their European neighbours. It also shows that Switzerland has been able to react thanks to the \u201crapid and effective mobilisation\u201d of business leaders. But the deal is far from perfect and will not erase \u201cthe humiliation of August\u201d, when Washington imposed a 39% tariff on Switzerland, it added.<\/p>\n It\u2019s \u201ca Pyrrhic victory\u201d, notes La Libert\u00e9. \u201cFrom the outset, the Swiss government has been humiliated by the occupant of the White House. Confident of his strength, he took the Federal Council for a ride, which nevertheless had no option but to return to the negotiating table, suffering torment and ridicule,\u201d it noted.<\/p>\n Consequently, Switzerland has had to \u201ckowtow to the foreign judge\u201d Trump, who is forcing it to invest $200 billion in the US between now and 2028. This will involve transferring jobs across the Atlantic and accepting imports of controversial agricultural products like hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chickens, whose production is banned in Switzerland, warns the Fribourg paper.<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Trade policy\n <\/p>\n Lessons from the US-Swiss tariff dispute: when the ends justify the means <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Nov 15, 2025 <\/p>\n Tariff negotiations with the United States have been a steep learning curve for Switzerland and its trade diplomacy \u2014 and an unprecedented rollercoaster ride. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: Lessons from the US-Swiss tariff dispute: when the ends justify the means Many German-language Swiss papers welcomed the US tariff rate cut. This has allowed Switzerland to \u201cavoid the worst\u201d, Tamedia group papers say. But this is only a first step, they point out, as the agreement still has to be approved by the Swiss political authorities. \u201cIt\u2019s not out of the question that something could go wrong. Or that the situation could escalate again,\u201d they warned.<\/p>\n US Supreme Court<\/p>\n In addition, proceedings are pending before the US Supreme Court on the legality of Trump\u2019s tariff strategy. If the judges were to rule in favour of tariff opponents, \u201ceverything would have to be redone, including the possibility that Trump might impose new tariffs on the basis of a different law\u201d.<\/p>\n The Neue Z\u00fcrcher Zeitung (NZZ) said tariffs may have been reduced to 15%, but this is well above the 3% average in force at the start of the year. It added that there is still much uncertainty regarding Trump\u2019s next intentions. \u201cPolitics in Washington is and remains a major risk for Switzerland, with or without Trump,\u201d NZZ said.<\/p>\n The CH Media newspaper group, for its part, questioned why Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who was still actively involved in negotiations and communications this summer, was not present at the Bern press conference on Friday. Did the United States no longer want to see Keller-Sutter after her disastrous phone call with Trump?\u201d they asked.<\/p>\n The Swiss public broadcaster SRF meanwhile pointed out that it was Donald Trump, not the Swiss president, who was \u201cresponsible for this setback\u201d. SRF said Guy Parmelin and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer appear to have a good working relationship. \u201cParmelin, who has always been somewhat underestimated and even sometimes ridiculed in German-speaking Switzerland in recent years, has suddenly become the strong man of the Federal Council, the man who saved the export industry and, as a result, thousands of jobs,\u201d SRF said.<\/p>\n But Blick insists that it is private businesspeople who succeeded where Swiss ministers failed: they secured a meeting with the president in the Oval Office. \u201cTrump, who has trouble with ministers, received the Swiss business club, listened to them, allowed himself to be offered gifts and showed goodwill,\u201d Blick said.<\/p>\n Translated from French by DeepL\/sb<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Are you noticing or anticipating any changes in your life as a result of the tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump? <\/p>\n How do you think your life could be impacted by the US tariff policy? Let us know.\n <\/p>\n![\"Trump](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/28e9edfa49586e26fbb216c980c99717302e7648-90334986.jpg\")
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