"He Wouldn't Let Me Hang Up"...Why Trump Raised Tariffs on Switzerland by Another 9%

Trump explains reason for hike in Fox News interview
"No costs at all when exporting products like Rolex"
"We did cut them, but we can raise them again"

Controversy is mounting after it was revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Switzerland because of its "negotiating attitude."

In an interview with Fox News in the United States that aired on the 11th (local time), President Trump said, "I received an urgent call from the Swiss prime minister, and he was very aggressive," adding, "He was polite, but very aggressive."

Donald Trump, President of the United States. Yonhap News

He went on to say, "(The Swiss leader) kept repeating that they are a small country. I simply could not hang up the phone," and explained, "Switzerland had not been paying tariffs, and we were running a trade deficit of 42 billion dollars. The tariff rate was very low at 30%, but I did not like his tone, so instead of cutting tariffs I raised them to 39%."

The Swiss prime minister President Trump referred to is Karin Keller-Sutter, the former president of Switzerland who stepped down at the end of last year. As a direct democracy, Switzerland has a unique political system in which the seven members of the Federal Council take turns serving as president for one year each.

Previously, the United States raised its import tariffs on Switzerland to 39% in the second half of last year, then resumed emergency talks and agreed on November last year to lower the rate to 15%. In return, Swiss companies pledged to invest 200 billion dollars in the United States by 2028.

However, President Trump left room for further action when he attended the Davos Forum last month, warning, "We have eased the pressure on companies such as Rolex, but we can raise it again."

At the time, he said, "When Switzerland exported watches to the United States, they paid no costs at all, so we imposed tariffs. Then officials from Switzerland and from Rolex called and came to see me, pleading earnestly for us to withdraw them," stressing, "We did cut tariffs on Switzerland, but most of the money they make is thanks to us."

Meanwhile, after the contents of President Trump's interview were made public, the opposition Democratic Party in the United States issued a statement criticizing that "tariff policy, contrary to President Trump's claims, is not about national security but the result of the president's reckless decisions."