Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 29, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 29, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleSwiss President Guy Parmelin says trade talks with the U.S. will continue into April, as the March deadline is no longer binding amid legal and investigatory developments in U.S. trade policy.
ZURICH, March 29 (Reuters) - Trade talks between Switzerland and the United States will continue beyond March following a preliminary accord on tariffs struck last year, Swiss President Guy Parmelin said.
Switzerland was subject to the highest U.S. tariffs in Europe when U.S. President Donald Trump in August imposed a 39% duty on products imported from the country.
In November, Bern sealed an initial deal to cut the tariffs to 15%. Switzerland later began talks to formalise that accord, which Washington was pressing to conclude by the end of March.
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump's global tariffs, prompting him to order a fresh 10% global duty.
In March, the U.S. launched new investigations against major trading partners, including Switzerland, casting further uncertainty over how talks would proceed.
Parmelin, who is also the Swiss economy minister, told state broadcaster RSI this weekend the March target was "de facto" no longer applicable and that negotiations would continue.
The next round of Swiss-U.S. trade talks is likely to take place in April, according to two people familiar with the matter.
(Reporting by Dave Graham, Editing by Rachel More)
Talks are continuing because the March deadline is no longer applicable after ongoing negotiations and new U.S. investigations into trade partners.
The U.S. imposed a 39% duty on products imported from Switzerland in August.
Switzerland and the U.S. reached a preliminary deal to reduce tariffs from 39% to 15%.
The next round of Swiss-U.S. trade talks is likely to take place in April.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump's global tariffs, leading to a new 10% global duty.
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