US consumers will pay price for tariff hike, warns top Swiss trader

Competition from other countries is on the rise and some low value-added activities have already left Switzerland, says Sébastien Landerretche, president of the Swiss Commodity Trading Association, SUISSENÉGOCE. Global trading heavyweights Glencore, Gunvor, Trafigura, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus have important operations in Switzerland. But over the past decade Geneva as an international trading hub has increasingly been challenged by rivals such as Dubai or Singapore that offer tax breaks and looser regulations, among other perks. Sébastien Landerretche spoke to Swissinfo at the Hotel President Wilson in Geneva, on the sidelines of the world’s largest commodities shipping conference, Geneva Dry. He discussed how Switzerland could remain competitive and the efforts made to ensure greater transparency in the sector. Landerretche is global head of ocean freight at Louis Dreyfus. In January 2024 he was elected president of SUISSENÉGOCE, the umbrella association that defends the ...