analysis
The American president complains about “elite countries” in a TV interview. And he makes a statement about the reimbursement of illegal punitive tariffs, which could also affect Swiss companies.
April 23, 2026, 05:01April 23, 2026, 06:21
Renzo Ruf, Washington
Donald Trump’s latest attack against Switzerland came out of nowhere. The American president had just criticized the high level of interest rates in the USA during a telephone interview with the business broadcaster CNBC. Then he suddenly mentioned Switzerland and the National Bank, which had pursued an expansionary monetary policy over the last “fifteen, twenty years”.
Switzerland is on the hook: Donald Trump regularly rails against our country.Image: keystone
And then there was no stopping Trump. He insulted Switzerland as one of the supposed “elite countries” that had accumulated their wealth on the back of the USA. But he put a stop to this practice with the help of his punitive tariffs, the president continued to rumble.
Switzerland did protest against these measures, allegedly with the argument that the country was “small and brilliant”. But Trump rejected this, saying: The USA is the real elite. At least Switzerland is now paying “a little” money back to the USA. But that is not enough. This amount will therefore increase in the future. “We will increase it a little,” Trump announced.
Federal Bern appears unimpressed
The entire interview sequence only lasted about 90 seconds. And it left many viewers perplexed – negotiations on a trade agreement are currently underway and, according to the last water level report last week, are making good progress. The agreement should generally set the level of duty on Swiss imports to the USA at 15 percent. The punitive tariff is currently at least 10 percent of the value of the goods during a transitional phase until the end of July. Then the Trump administration could introduce new tariffs against countries like Switzerland with allegedly unfair trade practices.
Video: watson/nina bürge
In its initial reaction, Federal Bern appeared unimpressed by Trump’s announcement. “We take note of the statements,” said Markus Spörndli, a media spokesman for Economics Minister Guy Parmelin’s department, on Wednesday. Negotiations between Bern and Washington are continuing and both sides are in contact. “Switzerland is striving for a negotiation result that satisfactorily regulates economic relations between the two countries in the long term, regardless of legal and political developments in the USA,” said Spörndli to CH Media.
Trump says companies should give up their money
So Trump’s pointed comments may be an empty threat. In the CNBC interview, however, the president made another statement that could cause headaches for export-oriented Swiss companies. A moderator asked Trump whether he would welcome it if affected companies forewent reimbursement of illegally collected punitive tariffs out of consideration for the president’s personal feelings. Trump replied: “That would be brilliant,” and whoever came up with the idea knew him “very well.” And further: He would remember the names of the companies that voluntarily gave up their money.
What you need to know is that since Monday, the affected importers have been able to demand back the “Liberation Day” punitive tariffs, which the Supreme Court declared to be illegal at the end of February 2026. For this purpose, the CBP customs administration opened a database that is intended to enable quick refunds for hundreds of thousands of transactions. Around $127 billion could flow back to importers in the coming weeks. It is still unclear how an additional approximately $40 billion relating to transactions from spring 2025 will be refunded.
So it’s a lot of money. And the question of whether big companies can afford to anger Trump. (aargauerzeitung.ch)