The shock hit just hours before the country’s own national holiday on Aug. 1, prompting Keller-Sutter to make a last-ditch trip to Washington to rescue the situation. Instead, she was ghosted by the White House.
On July 4, as the US celebrated Independence Day, Switzerland’s top circle of ministers also had reason to rejoice. They’d secured a deal to avoid punitive tariffs from Donald Trump — or so they thought.
Three and a half weeks passed before Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter or anyone else in the cabinet realised things were about to go horribly wrong. When Trump announced his tariff verdict, Switzerland was handed the highest levies in the developed world.
