Donald Trump has once more invoked Switzerland’s trade surplus to justify his trade policy, arguing that the prosperity of such countries depends on American generosity. In an interview broadcast on Fox Business on Tuesday evening, the president said the United States had “let them exploit us”, referring to Switzerland’s goods trade surplus with the US.
He said “Switzerland you think of, you know, as ultra chic, ultra perfect, every…, they’re not. They’re only that way because we allow them to rip us off and make all this money.” He then said he could cite “40 other countries” in a similar position.
He also referred to a phone call last summer with Karin Keller-Sutter, then Switzerland’s president. He said he believed he was speaking to the prime minister and that she was “very aggressive”.
As he had done at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, Mr Trump mocked Ms Keller-Sutter for repeatedly stressing that Switzerland was a small country. “I couldn’t get her off the phone…and I didn’t really like the way she talked to us*, he said. Shortly thereafter, Washington raised tariffs on Swiss goods to 39%.
The US trade deficit with Switzerland
The $41bn deficit cited by Mr Trump (he said it was $41bn in Davos but $42bn in the Fox interview) roughly corresponds to the $38bn net deficit in goods trade recorded in 2024. Switzerland exported about $63bn of goods to the United States that year, while importing roughly $25bn in return.
But this tells only half the story. Trade in services runs strongly in America’s favour. In 2024 the United States sold an estimated $65bn of services to Switzerland, while Swiss firms exported only $35bn the other way. That leaves the US with a sizeable services surplus. Once goods and services are combined, the picture changes markedly. The overall American trade deficit with Switzerland narrows to around $8bn—a fraction of the headline figure on goods trade alone and far removed from the impression conveyed by focusing on goods alone.
These figures are relatively modest in macroeconomic terms for Switzerland, which generated GDP of around $940bn in 2024.
A partial climbdown
Tensions eased in the autumn after fresh negotiations. A visit by Swiss business representatives to Washington, reportedly bearing generous gifts, preceded a reduction in tariffs to 15%.
At Davos, Mr Trump said he had lowered the duties because he did not wish to harm the Swiss population. But he reiterated that without the United States, Switzerland would earn “nothing at all”—a claim he repeated in the Fox interview.
Investment diplomacy
The president insists his tariff policy is working. Companies seeking to avoid duties, he says, are shifting production to America. Swiss pharmaceutical giants such as Roche and Novartis have announced plans to invest billions of dollars in new facilities in the United States.
Those pledges form part of a tariff agreement struck with Washington in November. It envisages up to $200bn of Swiss corporate investment in America in exchange for a reduction of punitive tariffs from 39% to 15% on many products.
Whether that represents a durable truce or merely a pause in a transactional relationship remains to be seen.
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Fox Business interview (in English) – Switzerland mentioned from 10:18
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