The Swiss government has reacted very calmly and without emotion to the tariffs imposed on its products by US President Donald Trump, even though it is among the countries in Europe that have the highest tariff rates.
Swiss President Karin-Keller-Sutter wrote on the X network last night that the federal government, which she chairs, "has taken note" of Trump's announcement that a 31 percent tariff would be imposed on goods from Switzerland. Trump has imposed 20 percent tariffs on European Union countries.
In Europe, Washington has imposed higher tariffs only on Serbia and Liechtenstein (37 percent each), Bosnia and Herzegovina (35 percent), and North Macedonia (33 percent).
For Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania, customs duties are 10 percent, while for Croatia and Slovenia they are the same as for all other EU members - 20 percent.
Keller-Zutter wrote that the government will urgently determine further steps and that the country's long-term economic interests take priority.
"The central value remains commitment to international law and free trade," the Swiss president wrote in the country's three official languages - German, French and Italian.
The daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reports that the Swiss government held closed-door discussions yesterday, ahead of Trump's tariff announcement, about the future relationship with the US and the new American administration. The government will consult with experts and consider options for action, the daily reports.
The newspaper writes that Keller-Sutter and Economy Minister Guy Parmelen plan to travel to the US, where they will attend the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and the G22 finance ministers from April 26 to 20, but that they will also use their stay for bilateral meetings, although it is uncertain whether they will also meet with American officials.
NZZ writes that it is likely that most foreign officials will try to meet with American officials during the World Bank session. Parmelen had originally planned to be in Japan at that time, on Switzerland Day at the Expo 2025 world exhibition in Osaka, but after the latest global economic turbulence, he decided to go to the United States, his spokesman said.
Parmelen is also a member of the World Bank Board of Directors and chairs the Swiss constituency in the World Bank Group, through which the group of countries, including Serbia, exercises its voting rights. Switzerland's constituencies also include Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein and other countries.
Switzerland has a significant trade surplus with the US, and more than two-thirds of its exports to the US are pharmaceutical and chemical products.
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