New York, Beijing, Tokyo - The Swiss Government Is On A Mission To Save Trade

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Swiss politics is on pause with the government's focus firmly on the economy. Three top ministers are abroad this week visiting China, Japan and the US. This is because export-reliant Switzerland is in danger of being caught in the trade war between two giants. This content was published on April 24, 2025 - 14:57 8 minutes

I work as editor and correspondent at the Federal Palace. I report on Swiss politics for the Swiss Abroad and manage our political talk show Let's Talk. I started in local journalism in the early nineties and have worked in many journalistic fields, held management positions and covered a range of topics. I joined SWI swissinfo in 2017.

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It looks like a coincidence, but it's anything but the usual overseas diplomacy. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis is visiting Japan and China, while Economics Minister Guy Parmelin is in the US with Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter.

Switzerland is repositioning itself in a world in which old partnerships are being put to the test – nothing is more important to the Swiss government at the moment.

American tariffs

The US is Switzerland's second largest trading partner after the European Union. Economics Minister Guy Parmelin and President Karin Keller-Sutter were in New York until Friday. Both members of the governing Federal Council took part in a meeting of the International Monetary Fund. That was the official missionExternal link . Keller-Sutter's trip had been planned for a long time.

It was also intended that the Swiss president would use her visit to establish contacts with key figures in the Trump administration. This unofficial endeavour has now been given top priority. The Swiss government is trying at all levels to fend off the announced, but for the time being postponed, US tariff hike of 31% .

This is also reflected in the fact that three state secretaries and the newly appointed special envoy for the US, Gabriel Lüchinger, also travelled to the US. The NZZ newspaper writes of an 'all-star teamExternal link '.

In addition, the Economics Minister Parmelin's visit to the US was not even planned. He was originally supposed to fly to Japan to the World Expo in Osaka. This Japan assignment went to Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis at short notice.

Reinforcing ties with China

China is Switzerland's third most important trading partner, Japan the fourth. The Swiss Foreign Minister's visit to China came as a surprise and was planned for later in the year. According to official Swiss sources,External link the visit to China could be ideally combined with the foreign minister's trip to Japan.

But here, too, the real background is likely to be the US tariffs. After Trump's tariff blitzkrieg, the Swiss government quickly became convinced that Switzerland, which is heavily export-oriented, needed to rethink its foreign trade network and broaden its base.

China, which has a free trade agreement in place with Switzerland since 2014, offers itself as an obvious alternative with growth potential – along with India, with a free trade agreement concluded in 2024, and Mercosur, where such an agreement is planned.

In any case, Switzerland's existing free trade agreement with China is currently being updated at Switzerland's request. It is to be expanded in favour of the pharmaceutical and machine tools industries.

The trip to China has also become urgent because Switzerland does not want to lose its pole position in Beijing. After all, if the US implements its tariff announcements, China will soon be courted by many countries – especially Germany, which is also eyeing the Chinese market with its precision industry. But Switzerland still has an important head start. In order to secure this, it is now utilising its good contacts to cultivate relationships at an early stage.

Foreign Minister Cassis met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Officially, Switzerland is talking about 'consolidating bilateral relations' and 'deepening political dialogue'. The 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries will also be celebrated.

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“Historical milestones are very important in China,” explains Kurt Haerri, long-standing president of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Good relations with counterparts are also much more important in China than in other countries, says the China expert.

Tough task in the US

The challenge in the US was for Switzerland to be able to present its concerns to the right people, preferably Donald Trump himself.

The fact that Karin Keller-Sutter was one of the few heads of state to have a 25-minute phone call with Trump on April 9 shows that Switzerland has already lobbied well. Nevertheless, with a new ambassador and a new administration, Switzerland is basically restarting its current relations with the US.

However, thanks to the efforts of the Swiss trade delegations to date and the significant investment commitments made by Roche (CHF 50 billion) and Novartis (CHF 23 billion), which the Swiss companies communicated in parallel with the Federal Council's trade mission, there are opportunities.

Trump's increased interest in a new nuclear agreement with Iran is also likely to be helpful. Switzerland has played the role of Washington's messenger to Tehran for the US since 1980. Back in 2019, this protecting power mandate earned the then Swiss President Ueli Maurer an unexpected invitation from Trump to the White House.

But there is also danger: Trump's dislike of China could lead him to demand allegiance from his trading partners. He may require Switzerland to choose between China and the US.

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The trip to China is primarily about cultivating relationships. But as always with China and Switzerland, it is also about the delicate balancing of Switzerland's economic interests and its political values.

After all, China expects its trading partners to make concessions.“The good relationship is not set in stone. The atmosphere can easily be disturbed,” says China expert Kurt Haerri.

In Switzerland, the Greens and the Social Democrats in particular are pushing for points such as forced labour and sustainability to be included when the free trade agreement is updated.

More Why Switzerland seeks deeper ties with China

This content was published on Oct 2, 2024 There has been free trade between Switzerland and China for ten years. Now Switzerland wants to update the agreement. What advantages has it brought the two countries so far?

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