Rich Switzerland in the grip of Donald Trump. “A Special Case”
The peace ended on Wednesday. And shots were fired in Washington. In a statement, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer threatened many allied countries with new tariffs – including Switzerland. The EU has to take into account 10%, Switzerland with 12.5%. The Swiss write bluntly: “Once again we are a special case.”
What is happening now is not a breakthrough. This is an outbreak of conflict that Swiss public opinion has allowed to smolder for several months, but which is causing sharp friction in the background. It is about nothing less than the direction in which Switzerland is to move, about setting its compass in the geopolitical system.
The US is concerned about the trauma of last year. “Liberation Day”, call from Trump, hammer tariff, 39 percent And then the efforts of Team Switzerland, which ended with the signing of a letter of intent regarding 10%. customs duties. This chapter is remembered as an image of a visit to the White House with a Rolex watch and gold bars. But that's a thing of the past.
The camp gathered around President Guy Parmelin, SECO Secretary of State Helene Budliger Artieda and a group of business representatives around Partners Group co-founder Alfred Gantner are actively fighting behind the scenes for a binding agreement with Washington.
Opposite is a coalition consisting of members of the Federal Council, such as the Minister of Justice from the SP (Social Democratic Party of Switzerland) Beat Jans and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis. Each of the people mentioned would now emphasize that they are looking for a substantive solution.
However, there are ideological divisions: on the one hand, the leading figure of the SVP (Swiss People's Party) Parmelin and the co-initiator of the “Kompass” initiative, Gantner, and on the other hand, representatives of pro-European circles gathered around Jans and Cassis, who do not want to alienate Brussels. In addition, there is the role of Trump's still offended opponent, Karin Keller-Sutter.
Anyone who looks around the Federal Parliament will notice that antipathy towards Trump's America is mixed with tactical moves, especially since a failure in the US could threaten the SVP's narrative that Switzerland is no longer dependent on Europe.
The specter of chlorinated chickens
In this fight, both sides are using harsh measures. The pro-European camp has been spreading the narrative that for a long time a trade deal would open the door to questionable American products. The fact that in September last year “NZZ am Sonntag” published a terrifying story about chlorinated chicken, can be read as part of this campaign against the conclusion of the agreement. Moreover, there are fears that the agreement with America will go through the mills of Swiss domestic politics, including the threat of a referendum, which is unlikely to be understood by the opposing side.
On the other hand The pro-American camp conducts mysterious shuttle diplomacy over the Atlantic as part of a public-private partnershipwhich doesn't seem entirely Swiss. Where exactly the institutional boundaries are between the state and private entities and whether they have always been respected are currently being investigated by a subcommittee of the GPK (Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee). Everything is fine, the heroes themselves assure us – billionaires have only played a role in reducing the trade surplus.
It appears that Trump isn't the only one who remembers last year's phone call with Keller-Sutter, as he has mentioned publicly many times. He seems almost possessed by the rich, small country of Switzerland. He accuses politicians in Bern of manipulating the Swiss francand the economic power (“tremendous!”) of this nine-million-strong country with its famous World Economic Forum in Davos still raises some suspicions.
Gantner and Jaeggi lobbied Greer
In Trade Representative Greer, the Swiss at least have a friend on the other side of the negotiating table. He talks to Guy Parmelin in French, which he mastered during his stay in Paris. He shares a profession of faith with the believing Mormon Gantner.
But how do these contacts take place?
According to information from the “Blick” newspaper, the group around Gantner has been intensively trying to break the deadlock in recent weeks. In particular, Gantner and commodities trader Daniel Jaeggi lobbied Greer. The documents show that Gantner has facilitated three ministerial meetings in Washington in the past for the federal government. In turn, the federal president's entourage assures that his meeting with Greer in the French capital this week took place without help from the private sector.
Greer's internal adversary is Howard Lutnick, a veteran of the New York financial establishment. When Greer shows up, Lutnick is usually not far away. And this is the most difficult issue for Swiss negotiators.
Trump needs a new legal basis for his tariffs
And Switzerland serves as a kind of role model for the US. For Trump, it is a model example of a trading partner in which he managed to completely change the trade balance in favor of the US by applying protectionist pressure. However, Switzerland played this special role already under Trump's democratic predecessor, Joe Biden: “Even Switzerland” adopted sanctions against Russia, the world was informed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Meanwhile, the interpretation dispute among the Swiss elite is intensifying: passivity may soon bring negative consequences. The legal basis for Donald Trump's customs system, on which the current 10% is based, expires on July 24. The US president refers to the so-called Section 122 of the US Trade Act. After that deadline, the administration will need a new legal basis for its trade war.
One thing is certain: Trump wants tariffs at all costs. He needs the resulting funds to finance his wars and pompous construction projects.
Now he's found another way: Section 301 of the US Trade Act allows introduction of tariffs in case of unethical practices of trading partnerssuch as the insufficient fight against forced labour. Therefore, the US President ordered the initiation of two investigations, which also include Switzerland. That his tariff fury last year was stopped by the Supreme Court doesn't seem to irritate Trump.
Protection against arbitrariness or a pact with the devil?
All these actions are a harbinger of a new escalation. The clock is ticking. And Parmelin and Budliger Artieda are even more demanding of a legally binding agreement. Rescue from arbitrariness, they say. Pact with the devil – others criticize. America-Switzerland against Europe-Switzerland. Conflict in the circle of state dependence on private entities, against the background of foreign policy marked by global fragmentation.
In those responsible, the heart rate increases. In “KKS” circles [Komitet Koordynacji do spraw Bezpieczeństwa] Budliger Artieda is criticized. On the other hand, it is said that the failure of Parmelin and company would benefit the Minister of Finance, because the trauma of the telephone conversation (with the US president) would be forgotten. The EFD strongly denies this opinion.
What's next? The Department of Economy says that The Swiss remain in constant contact with Washington. The goal remains an independent, binding legal contract. And the opposing side in Bern tirelessly warns of the bitter pills that will have to be swallowed. Cybertrucks (Tesla cars manufactured in the USA), chlorinated chicken, cheap meat.
One thing is certain: the peace is over.
