Switzerland, US reach tariff deal

WASHINGTON:

The United States and Switzerland reached an agreement Friday to sharply lower tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, officials said, with the Alpine nation vowing to invest $200 billion in the US to win over the White House.

The deal was announced a day after talks in Washington, where Swiss economy minister Guy Parmelin visited in hopes of easing steep duties the Trump administration rolled out this year.

Trump shocked Switzerland in August when he imposed a 39-percent duty on imports of goods from the country, among the highest in his global tariff blitz.

"We've essentially reached a deal with Switzerland. So we'll post details of that today on the White House website," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC in an interview.

Switzerland's government said it and the United States have reached an agreement where US tariffs will be slashed from their current 39-percent level to 15 percent.