Switzerland will continue talks with the United States, its president said on Thursday, after President Donald Trump placed crippling import tariffs on Swiss goods, which threaten to inflict serious damage on its export-focused economy.
The 39% import levy - among the highest of any applied under Trump’s global trade reset - took effect at midnight Washington time (0400 GMT) after an 11th-hour effort by Swiss officials failed to produce a better deal.
The tariffs are set to throttle the small alpine nation’s access to the U.S., a leading export market for Swatch, Rolex and Patek Philippe watches as well as high-end cheeses and chocolates.
The U.S. is also the single largest market for Swiss pharmaceuticals, worth $35 billion last year, produced by companies including Roche
and Novartis
