Swiss president hopes 'Holy Spirit' might guide US-China weekend talks in Geneva over tariffs

Geneva, May 9 (AP) Switzerland's president lamented “disappointing” talks Friday with US President Donald Trump's treasury secretary that did not ease stiff US tariffs on Swiss goods, but expressed hope for a solution to a more consequential US-China face-off on tariffs in Geneva this weekend.
     Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who also serves as finance minister, said she was nonetheless encouraged by the talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as Switzerland tries to wriggle out of hefty 31 per cent US tariffs of Swiss goods as part of Trump's sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on countries around the globe.
     Their meeting was only an appetiser for the potentially market-moving talks Saturday and Sunday between Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Geneva. Keller-Sutter also met with the Chinese envoy, but said it was merely a courtesy.
     As for the US-China talks, the Swiss leader alluded to the election of the first US-born pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, and quipped: "I said to Secretary Bessent that apparently the Holy Spirit was in Rome yesterday, and I hope that he will come to Geneva over the weekend.”
     The talks have been shrouded in secrecy and the Chinese and US sides have declined to specify where they will take place other than somewhere in Geneva, which hosted US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2021 — before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
     While the US administration has temporarily suspended the most severe tariffs against every target country except China, the 31 per cent rate — if restored — would put Switzerland in a worse position than its neighbours in the European Union, which are to face 20 per cent US tariffs on EU goods.
     The Swiss government said its talks Friday with Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were “convivial and constructive” and were aimed to lay out the guidelines for a deal on the issue of customs duties to be discussed again in coming weeks.
     On April 9 — a week after Trump announced the US “reciprocal” tariffs — he spoke with Keller-Sutter by phone and later announced a pause in their implementation for 90 days and capped the additional US tariffs at 10 per cent for most countries, with the notable exception of China.
     “Of course, it is disappointing," Keller-Sutter said when asked about the lack of a deal in talks with Bessent, before alluding to her earlier phone conversation with Trump. “I also told President Trump that this was not fair. But on the other hand, you know, I mean, we're not looking back, we are looking forward.”
     "And we're really encouraged by the talks we had that we're going to find a solution, and the US side really engaged with Switzerland also to find a swift solution,” she told reporters.
     Keller-Sutter trumpeted Swiss investment in the United States, saying it has created 400,000 jobs and “average salary USD 130,000, which is a lot” in the United States. She said she didn't know whether her call with Trump on April 9 convinced him to ease back on the tariffs, before adding with a laugh: “He should listen to women.”
     Going into the weekend talks between Bessent and He, the US slapped 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, and Beijing has responded with 125 per cent tariffs on US goods. Earlier Friday, Trump floated the prospect that those could be lowered sharply in a social media post.
     “80 per cent Tariff on China seems right!" Trump wrote on his social media account, before alluding to Bessent. "Up to Scott B.” (AP) GRS
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)