Syz the moment

According to the FT, Swiss political figures are calling for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to be enlisted to help sway Donald Trump, as the country reels from being saddled with the highest US tariff rate in Europe. The calls come as Switzerland’s president and economy minister failed in a last ditch bid to avert the implementation of 39 per cent tariffs, as they left Washington empty handed. President Karin Keller-Sutter and economy minister Guy Parmelin met with Marco Rubio on Wednesday afternoon but announced no change to the high tariff. The Swiss delegation was unable to secure a meeting with Trump. According to the FT article: "One member of Switzerland’s upper house as well as a former Swiss ambassador are among those arguing the world football chief could help secure vital access to the US president, with whom he has a long-standing rapport (...) National Councillor Roland Rino Büchel, also a member of the SVP, was among those arguing the Fifa president could act as an informal backchannel to the US president. Trump has previously referred to Infantino as “a friend of mine”, a “winner” and an “excellent guy”. Source: FT

President Donald Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that planned tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S. could eventually reach up to 250%, the highest rate he has threatened so far. He said he will initially impose a “small tariff” on pharmaceuticals, but then in one year to a year and a half “maximum” he will raise that rate to 150% and then 250%. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will unveil new tariffs on semiconductors and chips as soon as next week. “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category, because we want them made in the United States,” Trump said during a lengthy interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Trump said that that announcement would come “within the next week or so.” Source: CNBC

The European Union announced Monday that it is suspending for six months its planned countermeasures against the United States’ tariffs, which which were set to take effect this week. “On 27 July 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald J. Trump agreed a deal on tariffs and trade,” the EU Commission spokesperson for trade said in a statement. The spokesperson touted the agreement as restoring “stability and predictability for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.” “The EU continues to work with the US to finalise a Joint Statement, as agreed on 27 July,” the spokesperson said. “With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend by 6 months the EU’s countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August.” Source: CNBC

Switzerland said it was confident about securing an early trade deal as it was willing to pledge nearly $150bn in US-bound investment (which is huge on relative terms). “We have nine million people in Switzerland, yet our investment pledge per capita is much more than what Japan or the EU have pledged. If we talk about a $40bn trade deficit, one has to put that [in] perspective,” said Rahul Sahgal, chief executive of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. Let’s also keep in mind that we are also a huge investor in the US, with Nestlé, Roche and Novartis employing thousands of Americans. Gold exports — often transiting through Switzerland for refining or trade — are largely responsible for the country’s trade imbalance with the US. Yet both gold and pharmaceutical products are exempt from Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs. Pharmaceutical sector could be the tipping point: Switzerland’s pharma sector sends about 60% of its exports to the US. Novartis and Roche’s US subsidiary Genentech were among the pharmaceutical companies that received letters from the Trump administration this week demanding that they lower drug prices. Swiss watchmaker Breitling’s CEO Georges Kern said his country was being “held hostage” by the pharmaceutical industry that had irritated Trump. Source: FT

Here’s a look at countries that have a deal — and those that don’t. source: CNBC

Donald Trump has announced the US will levy 25 per cent tariffs on imports from India and also impose an unspecified penalty. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, the US president said Indian tariffs were “among the highest in the World”, adding that New Delhi had “the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country”. India had “always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia” and was Moscow’s biggest purchaser of energy at a time when the Ukraine war was still raging, Trump said. “ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” he wrote. “INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST.” The US president had said on Tuesday he would be imposing sanctions on Russia, including “secondary tariffs” on its energy customers, if Moscow did not halt the war in Ukraine within 10 days. Trump has also been pushing countries to boost purchases of US energy and military equipment. The EU said it would buy more American weapons as part of a trade deal with the US struck over the weekend. In a separate post on Wednesday, Trump added: “WE HAVE A MASSIVE TRADE DEFICIT WITH INDIA!!!” The US had a $45.7bn goods trade deficit with India in 2024.

That’s because the cash would come entirely from private sector investment over which Brussels has no authority, two EU officials said The deal included a pledge to invest an extra $600 billion of EU money into the U.S. over the coming years. “It is not something that the EU as a public authority can guarantee. It is something which is based on the intentions of the private companies,” said one of the senior Commission officials. The Commission has not said it will introduce any incentives to ensure the private sector meets that $600 billion target, nor given a precise timeframe for the investment. However, the first official said that the $600 billion figure was "based on detailed discussions with different business associations and companies in order to see what their investment intentions are." Source: Politico

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, "I'm not satisfied with this result in the sense of calling it 'good.' But considering where negotiations started with the US, achieving more just wasn't realistic." French Prime Minister François Bayrou went further, calling the EU’s acceptance of the deal a “dark day” and a sign of submission. The EU is the US’s largest trading partner, with a trade surplus of ~$250bn. Critics argue the asymmetrical deal reflects the true balance of power – and that a region which lags economically and relies on US security shouldn't be surprised when it's forced to make concessions. Source: Yahoo Finance, HolgerZ