The U.S. hit Switzerland with a 39% tariff rate last week after Trump’s August 1 deadline to strike a trade deal expired.
Switzerland announced on Monday that the country is committed to continuing trade negotiations with the U.S. this week, and beyond the August 7 deadline if necessary, to strike a better deal with President Donald Trump.
“As part of its contacts with the Swiss economy, the Federal Council has developed new approaches to talks with the USA,” the Swiss government said in a statement.
The U.S. hit Switzerland with a 39% tariff rate last week after Trump’s August 1 deadline to strike a trade deal expired. It will go into effect starting August 7. The statement noted that the tariff would impact around 60% of all Swiss exports to the U.S. “Thus, Switzerland would face significantly higher tariffs than other structurally comparable economic partners of the US,” the government said, pointing to the 15% tariff for the EU, 10% for the U.K., and 15% for Japan.
Swiss officials pushed back on the rationale for the tariff. “The Swiss trade surplus for goods—according to the figures up to March 2025—is by no means the result of ‘unfair’ competition practices,” the government said. It added that Switzerland eliminated all tariffs on industrial goods on January 1 last year, allowing more than 99% of U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free. The statement also emphasized that Switzerland does not offer industrial subsidies that distort competition.
The Federal Council said it is not considering retaliatory measures for now.
The U.S. market trended in the green during pre-market trade on Monday. The SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) rose 0.6%, while the SPDR Down Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) rose 0.5%. The Invesco QQQ Series 1 Trust (QQQ), which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, was up nearly 0.9%.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SPY and QQQ edged lower within ‘neutral’ territory over the past day. Meanwhile, retail sentiment around DIA also moved lower but was still in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone.
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