Swiss government adopts draft mandate for US tariff negotiations

On Wednesday, the federal government adopted a draft negotiating mandate on trade and economic issues with the US. The aim is to find a solution to the US customs dispute. In addition to tariff issues, the talks will also cover non-tariff issues. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Switzerland’s aim is to strengthen bilateral economic relations with its most important trading partner after the EU, as the federal government stated in a press release. The national government will endeavour to maintain or even improve market access in the US. The US government under President Donald Trump introduced a global blanket tariff of 10% on imports at the beginning of April. There was also a country-specific additional tariff of 21% for Switzerland. However, this was then suspended for 90 days until July 9. Bern now wants to find a long-term solution with Washington by this deadline. The mandate includes tariff issues such as improving market access for selected ...