Swiss pharmaceutical industry describes dark day for the countrypublished at 11:43 British Summer Time 1 August
Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva
Reaction here to Donald Trump’s 39% tariffs – higher even than the 31% he originally threatened – is total shock.
Right until the last minute, Switzerland hoped for a deal. Last May, Swiss president Karin Keller-Sutter said she had been told she was next in line after the UK to strike a deal with the US, and hinted at 10%.
But after a final phone call with Donald Trump last night, she said no agreement could be reached.
Switzerland’s pharmaceutical industry – key to the Swiss economy – has called it a dark day for the country: the Swiss tech industry says thousands of jobs are at risk.
Leading politicians are urging the government to continue negotiating, but no one seems too hopeful.
The key problem for Donald Trump seems to be that Switzerland sells more to the US than it buys. But the harsh reality is the Swiss produce things the US needs, but does not make, chief among them specific machine tools, and pharmaceuticals.
Many things the US produces – cars, for example – are just not on Switzerland’s shopping list. So there is no way Switzerland, a country of just 9 million people, can balance that deficit..
So today, the mood in Switzerland is despondent. Today – Trump’s deadline for tariff deals – is also Swiss national day, Switzerland’s equivalent of the Fourth of July.
As they celebrate, the Swiss feel they are being unfairly punished for producing high quality products that the world’s biggest economy loves to buy.