"No, Fredy, no" Gantner's customs thesis causes Bern to skid
The Control Committee (CC) wants to clarify what role Alfred Gantner really played in the US customs dispute. The entrepreneur speaks of a missed 10 percent deal - federal councillors and the head of Seco clearly disagree.
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- Parliament's Business Review Committee has extended its mandate - members want to question Alfred Gantner about the role of the business delegation in the Trump customs deal.
- Gantner claims that Switzerland could have had a 10 percent deal back in May, but was slowed down by objections from the administration and consideration for the EU.
- Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and Justice Minister Beat Jans reject the allegations as "absurd" and "untruths", while Seco head Helene Budliger corrects key points of Gantner's account.
In the dispute over US tariffs, entrepreneur Alfred Gantner is increasingly becoming the focus of political attention. As reported by "SonntagsBlick" (print edition), members of the Control Committee (CC) want to summon the Partners Group co-founder. The oversight committee has extended its investigation until mid-November - i.e. until after the visit to the White House by the six-person business delegation of which Gantner himself was a member.
The reason: Gantner has publicly stated several times in recent weeks that Switzerland was in a much better position in the spring. In discussions with the "Tages-Anzeiger" newspaper, he said that State Secretary Helene Budliger had already negotiated a draft for a tariff rate of ten percent between April and May. However, because additional co-reports had been requested within the Federal Council, the decision had been delayed - until the USA had reached agreements with other countries and imposed tougher conditions.
Gantner went even further at an FDP Schwyz podium. According to CH Media, he said that Switzerland had been blocked in its foreign trade policy because of the planned "Bilaterals III". The EU treaties had led to the Federal Council wanting to "harmonize" the American proposal - which had cost additional time. Gantner spoke of eight to ten lost weeks.
Budliger also contradicts Gantner
This account is now causing fierce opposition - both politically and administratively. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has stated that the allegations are "absurd" and lack any basis. Justice Minister Beat Jans goes even further: "Anyone who claims that I delayed the US deal with a view to the EU package is telling falsehoods." The Federal Council had consistently tried to reduce the punitive tariffs as quickly as possible.
Helene Budliger, who Gantner himself had brought into the so-called "Team Switzerland", also contradicts parts of his statement. At the same panel discussion, she made it clear that the draft agreement with the USA was not ready in May, but only at the beginning of July. And she responded to the claim that the EU treaties had slowed Switzerland down with a clear "No, Fredy, no". Switzerland had previously concluded several free trade agreements faster than the EU - consideration was not the reason for the delays.
The question of how closely the business delegation was coordinated with the federal government is an additional source of controversy. Among other things, the group presented US President Donald Trump with a gold bar and a Rolex table clock in the Oval Office - an event that has since triggered criminal charges.
