Executives from Mercuria, Rolex other Swiss firms meet Trump

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Executives of MSC, Rolex, Partners Group, Mercuria, Richemont and MKS took part in a meeting of Swiss business leaders with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, according to a statement seen by Reuters.

Switzerland is facing 39% U.S. tariffs on imports of its goods and both its government and private sector have been working to persuade Trump to reduce the levy.

The executives said the meeting was "highly constructive," but that they did not engage in any negotiations with Trump, who revealed on Tuesday that he had met senior representatives from Switzerland to discuss trade, among other topics.

"We expressed our belief that a bilateral trade agreement would further enhance economic collaboration in a manner beneficial to Switzerland and the United States," the statement said.

The letter was signed by Diego Aponte, president of shipping group MSC, Marwan Shakarchi, CEO of gold refiner MKS PAMP Group, Rolex CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour, Alfred Gantner, a founder of private equity firm Partners Group, Daniel Jaeggi, president of energy trader Mercuria, and Richemont Chairman Johann Rupert.

Last month, Swiss companies Mercuria and Partners Group pledged more than $6 billion in U.S. energy investments as part of efforts to lower the tariffs. 

Mercuria's planned U.S. energy investments could include measures to boost new power generation, carbon capture and storage, as well as U.S. oil recovery, a source said at the time.

An MKS spokesperson confirmed Shakarchi took part in the meeting. Representatives from the other companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Andrea Shalal in WashingtonEditing by Matthew Lewis)