Switzerland’s president rushes to Washington in effort to avert steep US tariffs

Switzerland’s president and other top officials were traveling to Washington on Tuesday in a hastily arranged trip aimed at striking a deal with the Trump administration over steep US tariffs that have cast a pall over Swiss industries like chocolates, machinery and watchmaking, Report informs via AP News.

President Karin Keller-Sutter was leading the delegation after last week’s announcement that exports of Swiss goods to the US will face a whopping 39% percent tariff starting Thursday.

That is over 2 1/2 times higher than the rate on European Union goods exported to the US and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the US Many Swiss companies in industries including watchmaking and chocolates have expressed concern about the issue.

It’s also more than the 31% that Switzerland had been set to face when US President Donald Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on products from dozens of countries in early April.

The Swiss government said the trip was “to facilitate meetings with the US authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation for Switzerland.”