The Swiss flag appears in the port of Geneva, Switzerland, on March 13, 2024.
Denis Balibouse | Reuters
The United States and Switzerland have reached a trade deal, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Friday.
Tariffs will be reduced to 15%, the Swiss government said in a post on X, adding that more details will be announced at 4 pm local time.
As part of the agreement, Swiss companies have committed to investing about $200 billion in the United States through the end of 2028, including funding for education and training, according to a Swiss government statement.
“We’ve basically come to an agreement with Switzerland,” Greer told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday morning.
“They’re going to ship a lot of production here to the United States — pharmaceuticals, gold smelting, railroad equipment — so we’re very excited about that deal and what it means for American manufacturing.”
Greer added that more details about the deal, which he said had “actually been in the works since April,” would be posted later on the White House website.
The agreement means that the country-specific tariff imposed on Swiss products will equal the rate applied to those imported into the United States from the European Union.
“Like all of the president’s agreements, we maintain a tariff,” Greer said Friday. “We maintain a tariff on these countries because we have to control the trade deficit. But as Switzerland, for example, has agreed to manage its trade surplus with the United States, in terms of ensuring that the things that they have a trade surplus on with us – pharmaceuticals, gold, etc. – their companies will be built here, so some of the sources of that surplus will be eliminated.”
He pointed to the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Rochewhich pledged earlier this year to invest $50 billion in the US.
“The announcement of the reduction of additional US tariffs on Swiss imports will serve to stabilize bilateral trade relations,” the Swiss government said in its statement on Friday. “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.”
In July, President Donald Trump announced that Switzerland would be hit with a 39% tariff rate, which was imposed when a Swiss delegation failed to reach an agreement with US officials during last-minute talks in Washington.
That meant Switzerland was subject to one of the highest tariff rates imposed on an individual country by the Trump administration.
Switzerland, an export-driven economy, has already been hit by tariffs. Last month, Swiss officials cut the country’s economic growth forecast for 2026, citing the “heavy burden” of US tariffs on its industries.
Its biggest exports include watches, pharmaceuticals and precious metals, but the country is also known for its luxury goods, chocolate and skin care products.
He swiss franc added 0.4% against the dollar following Friday’s trade deal announcements.
