Karin Keller-Sutter, President of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Federal Department of Finance, and Guy Parmelin, Vice President of the Federal Council and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, had led the discussions with their US counterparts on the fringes of the Bretton Woods Institutions' spring meetings in Washington on 24 April 2025.

On that occasion, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had indicated that Switzerland is among the 15 to 18 priority countries with which the United States wishes to seek a solution. They had also made assurances that, while the discussions were ongoing, the United States would refrain from a new increase in customs tariffs on Switzerland.

The discussions in Geneva on 9 May 2025 were convivial and constructive. They are aimed at defining the parameters for a solution to the question of customs tariffs. They follow on from the round of meetings in Washington at the end of April and a telephone discussion between the President of the Confederation, Karin Keller-Sutter, and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, on 9 April last year.

On 9 April, the US President decided to pause for 90 days the implementation of the surcharges (referred to as “reciprocal” customs tariffs) announced a week earlier, and to cap the additional customs tariffs at 10% for most countries, including Switzerland.

Previously, Federal President Karin Keller-Sutter and Federal Council Vice President Guy Parmelin met with the Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. The discussion centred around the challenges facing international trade policy, the bilateral economic relations between Switzerland and China, and the ongoing negotiations to optimise the bilateral free trade agreement. China is Switzerland's third most important trade partner after the EU and the United States.

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