Top Swiss envoy calls for ‘coalition’ to meet US tariff challenge during visit to China

Switzerland’s foreign minister has called for a “coalition” of countries to deal with the tariff war waged by US President Donald Trump, and touted Beijing as an important advocate of a multilateral world.

Ignazio Cassis told reporters in Beijing on Thursday that Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs have “created uncertainty everywhere, for everyone” including countries that were viewed as closer to the United States, adding that “no one is safe”.

“The difficulty we are having on the tariff matter is something that every other country shares. We have to create a kind of coalition,” he said. “A trade war is good to no one. Even [for] the US. We believe deeply in that.”

Cassis, who was on a two-day visit to China, was responding to a question about whether Trump’s sweeping tariffs would force Switzerland – which generally maintains a policy of neutrality on geopolitical and military matters – to take sides or strengthen cooperation with other trading partners.

The top Swiss diplomat responded by calling China a “very important” partner in areas including trade, but also stressed that the European Union and the US were also important partners.

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Switzerland, he added, was “very much impacted” by Trump’s tariffs, noting that the European country has a relatively small and open economy that would suffer when targeted with the protectionist measures.

South China Morning Post