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Report nowDonald Trump's 39% punitive tariffs on Swiss products are causing incomprehension in the international media. Germany is surprised at the President of the Swiss Confederation, Karin Keller-Sutter.
Donald Trump's 39 percent tariff hammer and the failed phone call by President Karin Keller-Sutter are also a topic in the international media. Here is an excerpt.
"President of the Swiss Confederation embarrassed: Botched Trump phone call costs Switzerland billions" writes "Bild". The German tabloid finds it unlikely that Karin Keller-Sutter and Guy Parmelin's attempt to change the US President's mind with an "attractive offer" will be successful: "The only question is whether Trump will give the Swiss his time again."
"The high US tariffs also caught the Swiss government on the wrong foot because for months it looked as if the negotiations were on the right track," according to the German "Handelsblatt". However, the business newspaper also stated: "The USA has so far shown little willingness to compromise. The tariffs are as good as set."
"Trump tariffs hit Switzerland: Keller-Sutter causes diplomatic disaster", headlined the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper. "What was planned as a diplomatic triumph ended as a scandal." Time is running out for a last-minute deal, which the Federal President still wants to negotiate - "and confidence in Keller-Sutter's negotiating skills has been shaken."
Even the customs decision on Friday was not commented on: The was a "slap in the face from Washington" finds the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" from Munich and writes of a "painful defeat for the government in Bern". The auto irin recalled that "Karin Keller-Sutter praised the incendiary speech by US Vice President J. D. Vance at the Munich Security Conference and described it as 'very Swiss', which caused irritation not only in her own country."
The customs hammer was also a topic of discussion in the major media houses in the USA. The "Wall Street Journal" sees "neutral Switzerland caught in the crossfire of the trade war after Trump's 'slap in the face'" and wonders how the close relationship between Bern and Washington could have broken down.
The New York Times saw August 1 as a surreal day because US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent Switzerland a warm message of greetings on the federal holiday: "We wish the Swiss people a successful and meaningful holiday and look forward to continued cooperation in the years ahead."
He did not mention the punitive tariffs announced a few hours earlier. According to the New York Times, Switzerland has made every possible effort since Trump's election to present itself as a reliable trading partner. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had therefore ennobled Switzerland as a "sister republic".
The BBC describes Trump's punitive tariffs as a "big shock and worse than the worst-case scenario". Why has Switzerland of all countries been hit with the highest tariffs in Europe? The BBC does not believe that the Federal Council's negotiating tactics are responsible: "The reality is perhaps a little simpler: Trump wanted to do big business, and Switzerland is simply not that big. It's not even clear how many talks Swiss trade negotiators were able to have with their US counterparts."
At the August 1 celebration on the Rütli, President Karin Keller-Sutter answered questions from the media. She said, for example, that the Federal Council considered Trump's assessment of the trade deficit to be absurd.
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