As summer turns into autumn, the Federal Council, MPs and voters will confront key political issues. The United States imposed 39-percent duties on Swiss imports, prompting urgent efforts to negotiate reductions. Swiss officials, including President Karin Keller-Sutter and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin, traveled to Washington without securing relief. The Federal Council stated Switzerland remains committed to discussions aimed at swiftly reducing tariffs and will seek a new deal this autumn. Switzerland also finalized a 2022 purchase of 35 US-made F-35A jets for 6 billion francs, but the US later increased the price by an estimated 650 million to 1.3 billion francs, creating controversy.
As the initial shock over the 39-percent duties imposed by the United States on Swiss imports has somewhat subsided, the Federal Council has to tackle a huge task: how to get Donald Trump to lower these tariffs, which are the steepest in Europe. So far, the government's attempts to reduce the tariffs (which included a rush trip the Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin made to Washington) have proved fruitless.
After the failed Washington trip, the Federal Council issued a statement saying that Switzerland "remains firmly committed to pursuing discussions with the US, with the aim of reducing these tariffs as swiftly as possible. No details were provided, but it is a safe bet that the government will have a busy autumn trying to strike a new deal with the United States.
Switzerland finalised the purchase of 35 US-made F-35A fighter jets in 2022, in order to replace its own ageing combat fleet. The price tag: 6 billion francs of taxpayers' money. But recently, the Trump administration has upped this agreed-on price by as-yet undefined amount, estimated at between 650 million and 1.3 billion francs. This situation has stirred not only quite a controversy in
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