Swiss president departs Washington without securing tariff relief

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter is poised to leave Washington, DC, without securing a reduction in the sweeping 39% tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on Swiss imports — the highest levied on any developed country.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the Swiss delegation, led by Keller-Sutter, submitted a last-minute proposal to US officials in hopes of averting the hefty duties. However, the person, speaking on condition of anonymity, said expectations of clinching a deal before the delegation’s scheduled departure remain slim, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Keller-Sutter had made a hasty trip to the US capital on August 5 in a final attempt to sway the Trump administration. Her aircraft is slated to depart Washington Dulles International Airport at 6:10 p.m. local time on August 6, according to flight-tracking data from FlightAware.

Earlier in the day, the Swiss president met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss Switzerland’s offer. In a social media post, Keller-Sutter said the pair had discussed “bilateral cooperation, tariffs and international issues,” though she did not provide further detail. Rubio, notably, does not hold authority over bilateral trade negotiations.

It remains uncertain whether Keller-Sutter will attempt to meet President Trump before departing. Her trip to Washington was made without a formal invitation from the White House, making a one-on-one meeting with the US president highly unlikely from the outset.

Switzerland now faces the imminent enforcement of the full 39% tariff at 12:01 a.m. New York time on August 7. The shock move by Washington followed weeks of discussions that Swiss officials believed were progressing toward a resolution. If the tariff is broadly applied — particularly to key Swiss exports such as pharmaceuticals — analysts at Bloomberg Economics warn it could place up to 1% of Switzerland’s GDP at risk over the medium term.

Switzerland’s $38.5 billion trade surplus with the United States is believed to be a central sticking point. Yet, even if Keller-Sutter had made concessions, they likely would have come at significant domestic political cost without substantially reducing the structural trade gap — which is primarily driven by exports of gold, pharmaceuticals, luxury watches, and medical devices.

By Vafa Guliyeva