Reaction to US tariffs Federal Council appoints a special envoy for the USA

Ambassador Gabriel Lüchinger is to represent Switzerland's interests in the USA. This is the Federal Council's response to the introduction of tariffs by the Trump administration.

Keystone-SDA

09.04.2025, 12:39

SDA

The Federal Council has appointed Ambassador Gabriel Lüchinger as Special Envoy to the USA. The temporary role is intended to provide a targeted and complementary channel of contact with a focus on international security. The appointment follows the tariffs imposed by the US government on Swiss exports.

Lüchinger is head of the International Security Division at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Born in St. Gallen in 1977, he played a key role in the Ukraine conference at Bürgenstock 2024. Most recently, he was rumored in the media as the successor to the resigning head of the intelligence service Christian Dussey.

Lüchinger was already in the running for the office of Federal Chancellor following the resignation of Walter Thurnherr. Only he was able to challenge Viktor Rossi to some extent. Lüchinger is the former Secretary General of the SVP Switzerland. From there, he moved to the EAER in 2018 as a personal assistant to Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin.

Lüchinger completed a postgraduate degree in international relations at the University of Uppsala in Finland. He completed the diplomatic concours and the FDFA's top cadre assessment.

Special structure to be active by the end of the year

In addition to the special envoy, a project organization will be set up to manage relations between Switzerland and the USA, the Federal Council announced on Wednesday. The new operational structure under the leadership of Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will come into force immediately and encompass all departments,

The structure is to remain in place until the end of 2025. According to the Federal Council's statement, it consists of a core group, an expanded group and the special envoy for the USA.

Last Thursday, the Federal Council decided to intensify contacts with the USA in order to find solutions to outstanding issues, particularly in the areas of trade, the economy and finance. This is in view of the 31% tariffs imposed by the US government on Swiss exports, which came into force on Wednesday.

Watch manufacturers, the machinery industry and the medtech sector are particularly affected. Pharmaceutical products and gold exports from Switzerland remain exempt for the time being.

The tariffs are a measure for countries with which the USA has a particularly large trade deficit from its own perspective. The US government calculated an individual percentage for Switzerland and other affected countries, which is intended to reflect both tariffs and other trade barriers.

Tariffs likely to hamper economic growth

The Swiss economy is therefore caught up in the global maelstrom surrounding the new US import tariffs. Economists at the major bank UBS see dark clouds gathering on the economic horizon due to the US tariffs.

The tariffs are likely to significantly hamper Swiss economic growth this year and next. Representatives of the local economy did not want to paint the devil on the wall just yet. They appealed to politicians.

The Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), Helene Budliger Artieda, has been in the USA since Sunday. Among other things, the State Secretary is in Washington to prepare a visit by President of the Swiss Confederation Karin Keller-Sutter and Minister of Economic Affairs Guy Parmelin.

On Tuesday, Seco did not provide any information on possible meetings or possible progress made by its head. The media office of Parmelin's Federal Department of Education and Research (EAER) stated that it would communicate any meetings "in due course".