On November 5, 2025, according to reports from Epoch Times, President Trump of the United States met with Swiss business representatives on Tuesday, November 4th, to discuss trade issues and praised the excellent work of the representatives in attendance.
President Trump took to “The Truth Social” on Tuesday to share, “We discussed many issues, with the most crucial being trade and the issue of trade imbalance, reaching a consensus by the end of the meeting. Our trade representative, Jamieson Greer, will further discuss relevant topics with Swiss leadership.”
This praise from President Trump could be seen as positive news for Switzerland.
Since the Trump administration imposed a 39% retaliatory tariff on Swiss imports in August this year, Switzerland has been striving to negotiate for more favorable tariff agreements. Previously, Trump had a challenging phone conversation with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter at the end of July.
A spokesperson for the Swiss government mentioned that Swiss business leaders took the initiative to meet with President Trump, independent of the Federal Council responsible for negotiations with U.S. authorities, with the government welcoming the commitment of business leaders.
The spokesperson stated, “The Federal Council has been informed that several Swiss business leaders actively requested and were granted a meeting with President Trump to emphasize the impact of the high 39% additional tariffs on their enterprises.”
“This action was initiated by Swiss business leaders independently, supported in the preparation stage by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Swiss Confederation, but separate from the negotiating mandate of the Federal Council with the United States.”
The spokesperson mentioned that Vice President of the Federal Council, Guy Parmelin, maintains regular contact with relevant U.S. authorities, including Greer.
Swiss officials have put forth a series of investment commitments and proposals aimed at reducing the U.S. trade deficit in hopes of reaching a tariff agreement. However, Keller-Sutter stated last month that it was difficult to predict if an agreement could be reached this year.
Although the U.S. tariffs only impact less than 10% of Swiss export goods, they have indeed caused severe disruptions in certain sectors, such as Swiss machinery manufacturers, who are facing pressure due to challenges like the economic sluggishness in neighboring Germany.
(This article references reporting by Reuters)