U.S. President Donald Trump said he raised tariffs on imports from Switzerland after a telephone conversation with the country’s leader because he didn’t like the way she spoke. He discussed the matter in an interview on Fox Business, directly addressing the topic of trade.
Chronicle of the Conversation and Trump’s Reaction
«I had an urgent call from, I believe, the Swiss prime minister, and she was very aggressive. Pleasant, but very aggressive»
– Trump
Apparently, Trump meant the then-President of Switzerland, Karin Keller-Sutter, who left office on December 31.
«We’re a small country… Over and over… I couldn’t hang up»
– Trump
According to him, the tariffs started at 30%, but after the conversation he decided to raise them.
«So (the tariffs were) at 30 percent, and I really didn’t like the way she spoke, and therefore instead of giving her a cut, I raised them to 39 percent…»
– Trump
Last November, the United States and Switzerland reached a trade agreement that provides for lowering tariffs on Swiss imports from 39% to 15%.