U.S. and Switzerland reach a trade deal, USTR Greer says

The U.S. and Switzerland have reached a trade deal, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Friday.

Duties will be reduced to 15%, the Swiss government said in a post on X, adding that further details will be announced at 4 p.m. local time.

As part of the deal, Swiss companies have pledged to invest some $200 billion in the U.S. by the end of 2028, which includes funding for education and training, according to a statement by the Swiss government.

“We’ve essentially reached a deal with Switzerland,” Greer told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday morning.

“They’re going to send a lot of manufacturing here to the United States — pharmaceuticals, gold smelting, railway equipment — so we’re really excited about that deal and what it means for American manufacturing.”

Greer added that more details on the deal, which he said had “really been in the works since April,” would later be published on the White House website.

The deal means the country-specific tariff imposed on Swiss goods will match the rate levied on those brought to the U.S. from the European Union.

“Like all the president’s deals, we keep a tariff,” Greer said on Friday. “We retain a tariff on these countries because we have to get the trade deficit under control. But because Switzerland, for example, has agreed to manage its trade surplus with the United States, in terms of making sure that things where they have a trade surplus with us — pharmaceuticals, gold, et cetera — their companies are going to build here, so it’s going to eliminate some of the sources of that surplus.”

He pointed to Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, which pledged earlier this year to invest $50 billion in the U.S.

“The announcement of the reduction in additional US tariffs on Swiss imports will serve to stabilise bilateral trade relations,” the Swiss government said in its Friday statement. “Although overall tariffs remain higher than before the additional tariffs were introduced in April, the agreed reduction in additional tariffs is expected to have a positive impact on the Swiss economy.”

Back in July, President Donald Trump announced Switzerland would be hit with a 39% tariff rate, which took hold when a Swiss delegation failed to secure a deal with U.S. officials during last-ditch talks in Washington.

That meant Switzerland was subject to one of the highest tariff rates imposed on an individual country by the Trump administration.

Switzerland, an export-driven economy, has already taken a hit from the tariffs. Last month, Swiss officials cut the country’s economic growth forecast for 2026, citing the “heavy burden” of the U.S. duties on its industries.

Its biggest exports include watches, pharmaceuticals and precious metals, but the country is also renowned for its luxury goods, chocolate and skincare products.

The Swiss franc added 0.4% against the greenback following the trade deal announcements on Friday.