For a long time, Switzerland considered itself on the right side of US foreign policy. That made the hammer blow of Trump’s tariff hikes even harder. The Swiss government was shocked and disappointed in its “sister republic”.
The expressions on the faces of the Federal Council delegation showed exactly how they felt about Donald Trump’s tariff hike. President of the Confederation Karin Keller-Sutter and Economics Minister Guy Parmelin informed the media in early April that the Federal Council would not take countermeasures.
The day before, US President Donald Trump had announced an exorbitant 31 per cent tariff on imports from Switzerland in a media event conducted in a gameshow-like format in the Rose Garden, with pharmaceutical products exempted for the time being. The reason given was allegedly unfair trading practices and currency manipulation. This made the bitter pill all the harder for the Swiss to swallow: Switzerland (and Liechtenstein) were the hardest hit among the European countries in April. A rate of 20 per cent was applied to the European Union. This ran against the assumption in Switzerland that the US president was not particularly keen on the EU. Indeed, it prompted a rethink, as the Swiss were rather brutally disabused of their illusions of a special relationship.
Switzerland had long considered itself on the right side of US foreign policy and had hoped to be spared punitive import duties. This belief was also based on Switzerland charging only negligible duties on US imports. There is a relatively high export surplus in the goods trade – mainly from pharma exports to the US. However, the thinking in Berne was that the trade in services also counts, and it comes out strongly in favour of the US. Swiss companies also invest heavily in the United States, with Switzerland coming in sixth place. Seen from that perspective, the duties against Switzerland seem “almost like an industrial accident”, to quote a nonplussed government representative addressing the media.
The relatively harmonious understanding between Berne and Washington during Trump’s first term also contributed to the positive sentiment. Just a few weeks before the tariff cold shower, business owner and SVP National Councillor Magdalena Martullo-Blocher claimed that Trump loved Switzerland. Switzerland would soon enter into a free trade agreement with the US. And Federal Councillor Albert Rösti commented to some secondary school pupils shortly before the US elections that he tended to favour Trump.
A look back through history tells us that there is probably a lot more to this saga than an industrial accident. For a start there is Switzerland’s belief in a special relationship with the US, which the Swiss hold onto only to be disappointed time and again. The Swiss like this idea of being a “sister republic”, something Trump has referred to in the past.
This sisterhood is indeed valid in terms of the almost parallel development of the two countries’ institutional history. When the US created a new constitution in 1776, they looked to Swiss thinkers for inspiration. When Switzerland subsequently adopted a federal structure, it applied central US concepts, including human rights and the parliamentary two-chamber system.
However, when it comes down to it, these similarities in statehood and personal responsibility are largely irrelevant. All the US is really interested in is having the power to enforce its interests unrelentingly. This was evident after the Second World War when Washington coerced Switzerland into paying compensation for its dealings with Nazi Germany. In the 1990s, the Confederation again found itself in the firing line due to unclaimed assets and Nazi gold. Under strong international pressure, UBS and Credit Suisse agreed to compensate Holocaust victims or their descendants to the tune of 1.25 billion dollars. The US also read the riot act to the Swiss over banking secrecy laws: in 2008, Switzerland was obliged to relax its banking secrecy and deliver the names of thousands of suspected tax evaders to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Every time, Switzerland has managed to come to terms with pressure from its big sister across the ocean. And it may well do so again this time. The US is Switzerland’s biggest export market, bigger even than Germany. Moreover, Berne has now established a line to the White House, after having initially been assigned to the underlings in Washington. In a telephone call with Trump, President of the Confederation Keller-Sutter offered some incentives to take the edge off the trade dispute. Shortly afterwards, Trump announced that the duties would be suspended for 90 days for all trading partners. An article in the “Washington Post” fed speculation in the Swiss media about Keller-Sutter having played a part in Trump’s decision. The article said that she had explained the consequences of the tariffs and prompted him to think again. This also added credence to the idea of the special relationship with the US.
Despite the power imbalance, Switzerland does not just want to play the part of supplicant to Trump. After all, he has been known to mock foreign politicians if they beg for a deal. The president only recognises strength and despises weakness. Switzerland has its trump cards: Swiss companies are the fourth biggest foreign investor in industrial production and the number one for research and development (R&D). Politicians have also openly talked about exiting the fighter jet deal with the US.
The US also seems to recognise that Switzerland does have something to offer. The Confederation is now in a group of 15 countries with which Washington wants to conclude a trade agreement as a matter of priority. Berne could sweeten the deal with more direct investments by Swiss companies in the US worth about 150 billion Swiss francs, about half of which would come from Novartis and Roche.
Switzerland could also cultivate goodwill through closer cooperation in developing the apprentice system in the US. Trump just recently announced a vocational educational initiative. At the same time, the negotiations are about duties and non-tariff barriers such as quotas, subsidies, taxes and trade in goods. Keller-Sutter would like to do away with the baseline tariff, which still applies during the 90-day grace period. That almost certainly entails the Federal Council making concessions in agriculture. The Confederation sees room for negotiation with such products as almonds or avocados, which are not grown in Switzerland.
The next step is a joint declaration of intent, which was still pending by our editorial deadline at the end of May. After that comes the negotiation phase. At least, that’s how it looks now, but given the many turns and surprises provided by the White House to date, maybe the only real certainty is that nothing is certain.
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Comments
Comments :
Trump/USA - Kopfzerbrechen wird wahrlich zum Alltagsprogramm für Staatsplaner. Den Politikern, die bei Trump nach Logik suchen, empfehle ich erst mal, den Rat eines professionellen Profilers einzuholen! Ich bin keiner, aber meine, dass das Basisergebnis den geistigen Rahmen einer Marlboro-Reklame nicht sprengen wird - ergo: der Schlüssel zum Erfolg ist mehr Glück als Verstand... Wer weiss, vielleicht bringt Geduld doch noch Rosen... Also, betet Freie Schweizer, betet...
Wollen wir wirklich auf Donald Trumps Wutanfälle reagieren? Je mehr man auf solche Wutanfälle reagiert und nachgibt, desto mehr und grösser werden die Forderungen (wie bei einem kleinen Kind). So wie es aussieht, sind Verträge mit Trump nicht viel wert. Je nachdem, wie der Wind bläst, kommen wieder neue Forderungen. Es schaut aus, dass es 'never ending' Erpressungen für unzumutbare Zugeständnisse sind.
Es ist vielleicht Zeit, nicht mehr auf Erpressungen einzugehen! Seine Landsleute müssen ja die Tarife, die er einsetzt, bezahlen... nicht die Schweizer Bevölkerung.
Ich glaube, die Schweizer können gut ohne Avocados und Mandeln aus den USA auskommen. Es gibt andere Länder, die das auch liefern können (das gilt sicher auch für andere Güter aus den USA). Irgendwann werden auch die Amerikaner aufwachen (hoffentlich bald) und von ihm verlangen, dass er seine Anfälle etwas herunterschraubt.
Vielleicht ist es auch an der Zeit, dass die Schweiz sich etwas ablöst von der USA und Handel mit anderen Ländern vertieft! Es kann nicht schaden, sich mit Asien, Australien, Südamerika, Kanada usw. etwas mehr zu befreunden und bessere Handelsverträge untereinander auszuarbeiten. Nach vier Jahren kann man ja mal mit den USA wieder von vorne anfangen und versuchen, vernünftigere Verträge auszuarbeiten, die dann auch von allen Parteien eingehalten werden.
Ich wohne in Spanien. Seit der Ankündigung von Zöllen kaufe ich keine amerikanischen Lebensmittel mehr. Auf Avocados, Mandeln und Baumnüsse kann ich gut verzichten. Ich finde, dass man Lebensmittel aus der USA kennzeichnen sollte, so dass die Leute selber entscheiden können, ob sie diese kaufen wollen.
Ich bin konsterniert, wie hier im Zusammenhang mit den Zolltarifen aus den USA über die EU aus Sicht der Schweiz geschrieben wird. Dies ist in seiner Denkweise an Egoismus nicht mehr zu überbieten! Man zählte darauf, dass der US-Präsident wenig vom europäischen Staatenbund hält! Ebenso sind die zitierten Aussagen von Nationalrätin Magdalena Martullo-Blocher sowie von Bundesrat Albert Rösti an Falscheinschätzung und Ignoranz nicht mehr zu überbieten.
Wenn das die allgemeine Einstellung der Schweiz ist, was ich sehr bezweifle, dann muss man sich als Schweizer im Ausland schämen.
Zollgebühren waren, sind und bleiben Staatsegoismus, gedacht zum Wohle der landeseigenen Hersteller. Schliesslich beruht eine ausgewogene Volksfinanz nicht nur auf Verbraucher. Wenn Sie schon den bezglichen Egoismus anprangern, dann sei vermerkt, dass Trump in dem Sinne ein Superlativ von Egoismus ist.
Maybe Switzerland should start to think about Brics, more than Dollars.