WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he met with senior representatives from Switzerland to discuss trade, among other topics, adding his praise for participants “on a job well done.”
“The meeting was adjourned with the understanding that our Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, will discuss the subjects further with Switzerland’s Leaders,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump’s positive comment could spell good news for Switzerland, which has been trying to negotiate a better tariff deal after the U.S. president in August imposed a 39% duty on imports from the Alpine country following a difficult call with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter in late July.
Swiss officials have pitched a package of investment pledges and proposals aimed at reducing the U.S. deficit in hopes of securing an agreement, but Keller-Sutter last month said it was impossible to forecast if a deal could be reached this year.
“Everything depends on whether the U.S. president gives the green light or not,” Keller-Sutter told The Tages-Anzeiger newspaper last month.
The Swiss embassy had no immediate comment on the meeting. No further comment was immediately available from the White House.
While U.S. tariffs affect less than 10% of all Swiss goods exports, some areas are being hit hard, with Swiss makers of machinery already under pressure due to challenges such as economic weakness in neighboring Germany.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Jasper Ward; Editing by Chris Reese and Lincoln Feast)
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