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a tic-tacky investment to support swiss watch industries...

Swiss executives gave luxury gifts for US President Donald Trump shortly before Bern and Washington announced a new trade deal that reduces the steep US import tariffs, according to media reports.

The deal, announced on Friday, cuts the Trump administration’s 39% tariff on the country’s goods to 15% and includes a pledge by Swiss companies to invest $200 billion in the US economy. The tariff hike took effect in August, after Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ speech in April outlining a global trade overhaul.

The breakthrough reportedly followed a November 4 visit to the White House by Swiss executives, who presented Trump with high-value items, including a personalized gold bar and a gold Rolex desk clock. According to Axios, the bar, worth over $130,000, was engraved with 45 and 47 in reference to Trump’s presidential terms and was accepted on behalf of his library under US gift rules. The delegation reportedly included senior figures from MKS, Rolex, Richemont, and commodity trader Mercuria.

The gesture drew criticism in Switzerland, with the Green Party calling the deal a “surrender agreement,”and accusing the country’s economic elite of bending to Trump’s demands. Party leader Lisa Mazzone said consumers and farmers would ultimately “pay the price” for the concessions, while raising concerns about the “questionable methods and gifts of gold.”

Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin rejected the criticism, saying the country has not “sold its soul to the devil” and that the trip helped move talks forward. He noted that the executives had “good contacts in the US” and that some were friends of Trump “because they play golf with him.”

Washington welcomed the outcome. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the investment commitments would support domestic industry.

The agreement follows Trump’s broader reset of US trade ties, under which several countries have negotiated revised tariff terms. In July, the EU accepted a 15% tariff on most goods and pledged major energy purchases and investments.

Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from US trade partners over the past year to address what he called unfair economic imbalances. Critics argue the higher charges have increased costs for US consumers.

https://www.rt.com/news/627892-trump-switzerland-tariffs-deal-gifts/

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

extortion and bribery....

The Trump administration plans to lower the United States’ tariffs on goods from Switzerland, according to an announcement Friday from the White House and the Swiss government following a meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The tariff rate the US charges on Swiss imports will fall to 15% from 39%, which had been among the highest levies the United States charges for any country’s goods.

As part of the agreement, Swiss companies committed to investing “at least $200 billion into the United States, with at least $67 billion worth of investment occurring in 2026,” according to a White House fact sheet published on Friday. In a separate statement, the Swiss government said the total investments would be completed by 2028. It also said it agreed to lower tariffs on “a range of American products.”

Additionally, tariffs on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors from Switzerland won’t exceed 15%, according to a joint statement. This comes as the Trump administration has been mulling higher tariffs on both sectors.

“They’re going to send a lot of manufacturing here to United States — pharmaceuticals, gold smelting, railway equipment,” Greer said in a CNBC interview on Friday, previewing details of the agreement.

Wristwatches, unsmelted gold and medical equipment are all among the top goods the United States buys from Switzerland. While gold had been excluded from the tariffs, wristwatches and medical equipment, as well as other Swiss exports, could get cheaper for Americans to buy.

The United States ran a $38 billion trade deficit with Switzerland last year, according to US Commerce Department data. Greer said the agreement reached seeks to lower that.

Before President Donald Trump’s second term, goods from Switzerland were generally charged a tariff of between 0% to 2.5%.

“Although overall tariffs remain higher than before the additional tariffs were introduced in April, the agreed reduction in additional tariffs is expected to have a positive impact on the Swiss economy,” the Swiss government said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/14/business/switzerland-us-tariffs

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.