American newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" published an article titled "Trump humiliates Switzerland with a high tariff of 39%, highlighting the cruel cost of small country's independence": "Trump imposed almost the highest tariffs in the world on Switzerland, shocking the whole country. The Alpine nation may suffer severe damage to its key economic sectors that rely on exports."
Switzerland, originally expecting to enjoy a 10% 'base tariff' like the UK, was undoubtedly shocked, incredulous, and emotionally conflicted when Trump announced the result. For years, although Switzerland has claimed neutrality, it has often complied with American instructions: taking sides in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, promising increased investment in the US when Trump threatened to impose tariffs... Even so, it still ended up facing nearly the highest tariffs in the world. This result nakedly reveals that in the face of American hegemony, the so-called 'independence' of small countries is fragile, with no room for autonomous choice, only passively bearing the cruel cost of hegemonic oppression.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839604426766537/
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