Treasury Secretary Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer Will Meet Chinese Trade Counterparts in Switzerland

The media have been going bananas wondering when President Trump will begin negotiations with China.  President Trump has been very clear that there is no need to open negotiations with China, but all discussions are welcome.

Essentially the point is that tariffs will remain in place until Beijing gets to a point where they acquiesce to the reality of President Trump’s terms for reciprocal trade.  The goal is to bring manufacturing back to the USA, not generate terms where manufacturing remains in China.

The Chinese trade delegation is scheduled to be in Switzerland at the same time as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to be there.  Both Bessent and Greer announced today they will meet with their Chinese counterparts on the sidelines of their travel to Switzerland.

USTR Press Release – […] “At President Trump’s direction, I am negotiating with countries to rebalance our trade relations to achieve reciprocity, open new markets, and protect America’s economic and national security,” said Ambassador Greer. “I look forward to having productive meetings with some of my counterparts as well as visiting with my team in Geneva who all work diligently to advance U.S. interests on a range of multilateral issues.”

While in Switzerland, Ambassador Greer will also meet with his counterpart from the People’s Republic of China to discuss trade matters.” (link)

Treasury Secretary Press Release – “During Secretary Bessent’s visit to Switzerland, he will meet with President Karin Keller-Sutter of Switzerland, during which the Secretary will follow up on their recent meeting on the sidelines of the recent World Bank Group (WBG) – International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings. 

While in Switzerland, Secretary Bessent will also meet with the lead representative on economic matters from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). (link)

As we previously noted, the Swiss are very interested in resolving their trade status quickly.

The Swiss Franc is now at the highest point against the U.S dollar in decades. One franc is worth 1.21 dollars.  This makes their exports cost even more.  The Swiss government desperately needs to lower the value of their currency.  The Swiss central bank has already dropped interest rates to 0.25% and is now contemplating negative interest rates as a result.