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US President Donald Trump raises his fist after arriving at the White House in Washington, Colombia County, on August 3, 2025, after spending the weekend at Bedminster’s residence.
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Tensions and fears are high in Switzerland as the deadline for reaching a trade agreement with American aging only days.
Without a deal, Switzerland persons 39% obligations To his goods imported into the United States after being hit with one of the highest new tariff rates at the last change of trade policy of US President Donald Trump last week. The higher duty surprised many, as the widespread reports in earlier suggest that a trade agreement was close and there was just missing Trump’s signature.
Over the weekend, reports emerged that higher tariffs followed a disagreeing phone call on Thursday between Swiss President Karin Keller-Suter and Trump-catee Swiss employees, according to ReutersS The Swiss Federal Office did not immediately answer CNBC’s request for comment.
Guy Parmelin, a member of the Federal Council of Switzerland and Head of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, told local media that the government was open to set up its proposal to the United States – but it could be difficult to finalize by the deadline on August 7, Reuters reportedS
Swiss leaders will meet on Monday to discuss the latest developments.
Elsewhere, US sales representative Jamison Greer somewhat hopes for noise from upcoming trade agreements, telling CBS News that he did not expect the last tariffs to be negotiated more in the coming days and that “these tariff prices are quite set.”
Concerns in the Swiss business community
Industrial groups and business leaders have lifted the alarm for potential businesses for business, which may include huge job losses.
“It was much more than a surprise. We were all shocked,” was Jan Atslander, head of the Ministry of International Relations and a member of the Executive Board at the Economiesuisse, Caroline Roth of CNBC and Ritika Gupta told Europe Early Edition on Monday.
For Swiss enterprises, it would be difficult to compensate for the impact of the tariff by 39%, Attensland noted. “Such a high percentage for many companies will simply interrupt trade and we are convinced that a deal is still better for both parties than just reducing trade.”
He added that “there is no substitute for the United States” in terms of export markets, although Switzerland prioritizes diversification and Swiss enterprises that are successful around the world.
The main Swiss exports include chemical and pharmaceuticals, watches and jewelry, gold, chocolate and electronics.
The Swiss Smi Blue-Chip Index was closed to a national holiday when the new US tariff was announced on Friday, but opened lower by about 1.2% at 8:30 am in London on Monday. The shares of the Sika chemical company fell by 2.1%, while the luxury groups of Richemont and Roche traded by about 1.5% lower.
The wider Swiss index of all shares decreased by 1.5% in early deals.
UBS analysts said on Friday that the direct impact on the common market for Swiss shares from the new obligations would be “negative but not destructive”. They have marked the worst affected companies that will include watchmaking manufacturers, some Medtech companies and smaller companies that are more exported.
Fears also emerged over the Swiss economic prospects in a script without a deal.
Gianluigi Mandruzzato, a senior economist at EFG Asset Management, told Europe an early edition of CNBC on Monday that the risk of Swiss recession has increased after the announcement, with US export rates affecting about 10% of the economy.
The levies would also have a deflationary pressure on the economy and therefore on the Swiss National Bank, which has already reduced interest to zero to abandon the poor inflation and the power of the Swiss franc, the Mandruse added.
Deal forward?
While business leaders are hoping to achieve a deal in Switzerland and the United States, there is currently a lot of uncertainty, according to Economiesuisse’s Atteslander.
While the Swiss government was working on a new offer, “it is currently open,” he said.
It remains “very difficult to say” whether the government will be able to negotiate a better deal, which is the current 39% percentage before the deadline, said Mandruse, as potential negotiation tools, including higher American energy purchases or more direct investment from Swiss companies in the US
“It seems that commercial negotiations with the United States are ultimately reduced to what Donald Trump prefers,” Mandruzatato said, adding that it is also difficult to evaluate what the final negotiations can be.
– Carolyn Roth on CNBC and Ricitus gupta contributed to this report.
