ZURICH (Reuters) -Discussions on how to lower Switzerland’s tariff burden with the United States have broached importing aeroplanes, Swiss International Air Lines said on Wednesday, as the country seeks to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S..
Swiss officials and business leaders are trying to craft a plan that will persuade the U.S. to reduce the tariffs of 39% imposed last week on Switzerland by the Trump administration, to the dismay of the Swiss government.
U.S. President Donald Trump has cited the country’s trade deficit in goods with Switzerland – more than $38 billion in 2024, according to U.S. figures – as grounds for the tariffs.
Among the business executives who accompanied top Swiss government officials in Washington last week during a last ditch push to avert the tariffs was Jens Fehlinger, CEO of Swiss International Air Lines, a unit of Germany’s Lufthansa.
Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported that Fehlinger had pitched the idea to the Swiss officials of having Lufthansa process future purchases of Boeing aircraft through Switzerland in a bid to cut the U.S. trade deficit.
Responding to a question on the report, Swiss International said the talks over trade included discussion about the “framework conditions for aircraft imports and possible options – for the Lufthansa Group, SWISS, the United States, and U.S. companies”.
“Any substantive statements on these considerations and the negotiations themselves remain the responsibility of the relevant government agencies,” it added.
A source familiar with Switzerland’s trade discussions said the plane import idea had arisen but was not very concrete.
In a statement, Lufthansa said it was interested in the success of its Swiss unit and the Swiss economy.
“Fleet procurement at the Lufthansa Group is carried out in close coordination with the airlines,” it added.
The Swiss economy ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the story.
(Reporting by Dave GrahamAdditional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
