US President Donald Trump said he met with Swiss officials to discuss trade and other issues and announced more trade talks as the European nation seeks to reduce a tariff that is higher than any other developed country, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
“The meeting has been adjourned with the understanding that our trade representative, Jamieson Greer, will continue to discuss these issues with the Swiss leaders,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Market reaction
At the time of writing, USD/CHF was down 0.05% at 0.8103.
The most frequent questions about tariffs
Tariffs are duties imposed on certain imports of goods or categories of products. Tariffs are designed to help local producers and manufacturers be more competitive in the market by providing a price advantage over similar goods that can be imported. Tariffs are widely used as tools of protectionism along with trade barriers and import quotas.
Although both duties and taxes generate government revenue to finance public goods and services, they have several differences. Tariffs are paid in advance at the port of entry, while taxes are paid at the time of purchase. Taxes are imposed on individual taxpayers and businesses, while duties are paid by importers.
There are two schools of thought among economists regarding the use of tariffs. While some argue that tariffs are necessary to protect domestic industries and address trade imbalances, others see them as a harmful tool that could potentially raise prices in the long run and lead to a damaging trade war by inciting tit-for-tat tariffs.
Donald Trump has made it clear in the run-up to the November 2024 presidential election that he intends to use tariffs to support the US economy and American manufacturers. In 2024, Mexico, China and Canada accounted for 42% of total US imports. During that period, Mexico was the top exporter, with $466.6 billion, according to the U.S. Census. Trump therefore wants to focus on these three countries when imposing tariffs. He also plans to use the income generated through tariffs to reduce personal income taxes.
