Helen Budliger Artida in November 2025. (Ore Huiying/Bloomberg)
key takeaways:
- There is “a good chance” that Switzerland will secure a permanent trade deal with the US at 15% tariff rates, according to the country’s top trade diplomat. “A level playing field is the ideal scenario for us,” said State Director Helen Budliger Artida.
- The stakes center on predictability for Swiss companies and concessions including US market access for agriculture and a $200 billion Swiss investment pledge.
- Talks continue as the US reviews Swiss policies under Section 301, with officials trying to avoid further unilateral tariffs and finalize a permanent agreement.
There is “a good chance” that Switzerland will secure a permanent trade deal with the US at 15% tariff rates, according to the country’s top trade diplomat.
“A level playing field is the ideal scenario for us,” Helen Budliger Arteida, director of the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs, said in a conversation with Bloomberg News deputy editor-in-chief Reto Gregory in Zurich. “Swiss companies care about the numbers, but they now care almost more about the predictability and consistency of the numbers,” he said.
Switzerland is in a delicate phase of negotiations with the US as it seeks to secure a permanent deal to provide exporters with a more predictable trading landscape.
President Donald Trump stunned the country last August when he imposed a 39% tariff on its goods, the highest on any Western country, after a disturbance in a telephone call with his then-counterpart in Bern. Three months later, in November, Swiss officials managed to secure an initial framework agreement that would limit the levy on exports to 15%, in line with other EU countries.
The Trump administration agreed to cut tariffs to that level in exchange for access to duty-free import quotas for U.S. meat, easier imports of some other agricultural goods, and a pledge of $200 billion in investments from Swiss companies.
Nevertheless, Washington launched an investigation in March under Section 301 of the US Trade Act to determine whether Switzerland has any policies that discriminate against the US.
In April, Budliger Artida wrote to American counterparts to assure them that Switzerland “is not engaging in interventions that create or maintain artificially high production capacity, nor burden American commerce.” He urged the administration not to impose further unilateral measures.
Budliger Artida said he was not sure what Switzerland could have done differently in negotiations with the US after Trump’s Aug. 1 tariff shock.
“To be honest, I don’t know,” she said on July 8. “We say what we do.”
Mar-a-Lago
He said Switzerland’s one-year presidential term means it is difficult for the president to build a long-term relationship with Trump.
“The President has not been there for 10 years,” he said. “Going to Mar-a-Lago, it’s not a Swiss thing,” he said, referring to Trump’s Florida base.
Budliger Artiada’s role at the helm of SECO makes him one of Switzerland’s most influential public officials. The government office oversees labor policy and economic forecasts, and handles hot-button issues such as trade and sanctions enforcement, as well as marketing Switzerland as a business location.
Beginning in the Foreign Service, Budligar Artida served as ambassador to Thailand and South Africa. Economy Minister Guy Parmelin, now president of Switzerland, tried to capitalize on his skills in diplomacy and networking when negotiating with the Trump administration, a process that thrust him into the global spotlight.
When Swiss officials took the country’s petition for a trade deal straight to the White House last year, Budligar Artida worked hard to ensure that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer attended the meeting, according to people familiar with the matter. This gave the Swiss an ally in the Oval Office, as Greer was more open to Switzerland’s approach than Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The country’s success in achieving an initial deal setting tariff limits in November was a direct result of that gathering.
ubs
A staunch proponent of light-touch regulation in favor of Switzerland as a business location, Budliger Artida is not shy about speaking out on occasion.
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Budligar Artida has taken a more emotional approach amid government pressure for UBS Group AG to hold more capital, with ministers emphasizing how they were not swayed by the bank’s veiled threat to leave the country.
“I still like UBS,” she said on Bloomberg Television on July 8, reiterating comments she made in November. “But that’s not the thing that matters. It’s now in the hands of the Swiss Parliament and they will decide.”
The Swiss National Bank said earlier this month that UBS already had enough capital to meet new requirements proposed by the Swiss government. The central bank supports that effort and believes the $9 billion in reserves at the bank’s Swiss unit will be enough to finance the planned transition.
