On February 11, Trump told Fox Business Channel: "The original plan was to impose a 30% tariff on Switzerland, but I didn't like the tone of the Swiss leader's speech, so I raised the rate to 39%. We believe that Switzerland has taken too much advantage of the United States through low tariffs and trade deficits, resulting in a $42 billion trade deficit. Therefore, I imposed tariffs, and even so, we are still facing a huge trade deficit. However, Switzerland quickly promised to invest $200 billion in the U.S., and we agreed to reduce the tariff rate to 15%."
[Clever] Tariff rates depend on mood, negotiations rely on pressure - the US-style trade bullying has been fully exposed! Trump raised Switzerland's tariff from 30% to 39% because he didn't like the tone of the Swiss leader, and only lowered it back to 15% after getting a $200 billion investment. The international economy is treated as a discretionary transaction. History has already made its judgment: unilateral tariffs have never truly reduced the deficit, but only disrupted the stability of global supply chains. The so-called "fair trade" is actually might makes right. Even a neutral country like Switzerland has been subjected to extreme pressure, which shows how little respect the U.S. has for its allies and rules. This emotional and extortionist approach may bring short-term benefits, but it will long-term erode the country's credit, making the world more clear-sighted: an empire built on intimidation won't last long!
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856835220687880/
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