Donald Trump no longer wants to negotiate with Karin Keller-Sutter
Published
The President of the Confederation is said to have irritated her American counterpart much more than anyone had previously imagined.
According to Washington, it was only the 34-minute phone call between Karin Keller-Sutter and Donald Trump on July 31 that led to the collapse of the trade agreement between Switzerland and the United States, reports "SonntagsBlick", citing anonymous sources close to the American administration.
According to the latter, the American president felt humiliated and lectured during this telephone conversation . The President of the Swiss Confederation not only angered her American counterpart by correcting his claim of a 40 billion trade deficit with Switzerland, but she also allegedly belittled him by giving him a half-hour lecture on macroeconomics and economic policy. This "lesson" reportedly irritated him so much that he immediately informed his colleagues that he never wanted to negotiate with her again.
At the White House, on the eve of August 1, the line was clear: as long as Karin Keller-Sutter remained president, Switzerland would not obtain a reduction in customs tariffs. "Never before has a sitting American president allowed himself to be treated like this for more than half an hour by the leader of another country. Bill Clinton would have hung up after ten minutes. Barack Obama would not have tolerated this," said one of the sources.
Donald Trump clearly took the matter very personally. "This is not a country problem, but a personality problem," he repeated afterwards, both privately and publicly. Criticism also focused on Karin Keller-Sutter's comments after the call: the Federal Councilor referred to the trade deficit as "theft," a word the Republican billionaire allegedly never used, according to the minutes.
When contacted, Karin Keller-Sutter's Federal Department of Finance (FDF) declined to comment on the latest developments, stating that it had no evidence of a personal dispute with the White House. Swiss diplomatic circles deny that the finance minister has become persona non grata in Washington. The incident is also interpreted as a negotiating tactic by the United States.
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