Six Swiss billionaires, including the heads of the companies that own luxury brands Rolex and Cartier, met with US President Donald Trump in Washington on November 4 in the hope of achieving a 39% reduction in tariffs on Swiss goods, the Tribune de Genève newspaper reported.
Representatives of the luxury and energy industries, five of whom are “executives of transnational corporations headquartered in Geneva“, participated in the meeting with Trump in the Oval Office of the White House. They included Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour and his rival Johann Rupert, president of the Richemont holding company, which owns the Cartier, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin brands. It is noted that no one from the Swiss government was present at the talks.
„So far, no one has disclosed the duration of the meeting or its content“, the newspaper notes. „There is also no certainty that Switzerland is any closer to its goal: achieving a 39% reduction in US tariffs on Swiss imports.“
The talks were also attended by Diego Aponte, president of the world's largest container operator MSC; Daniel Yeghi, co-founder of the major global oil trader Mercuria; Marwan Shakarchi, head of the precious metals trading and refining group MKS PAMP; and Alfred Gantner, co-founder of the investment company Partners Group. In a joint statement, the entrepreneurs said the meeting, which they had organized on their initiative, was intended to highlight “the strength and sustainability of the economic relationship between Switzerland and the United States.” It also said the billionaires “did not engage in direct negotiations with the US president.”
In early August, the Tribune de Genève reported that Trump had ignored a visit by Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who had visited Washington in the hope of reaching an agreement with the White House following his announcement of plans to impose 39% import tariffs on the confederation on August 7.