President Trump said on Wednesday that he imposed higher tariffs on Switzerland last year, at least in part, because of a phone call with the country’s president that “rubbed me the wrong way.”
The tariff rate, which Mr. Trump set at 39 percent last August, was significantly higher than the rates he imposed on the European Union, which negotiated a 15 percent tariff, and Britain, which reached a 10 percent tariff deal.
Speaking on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Trump seemed to confirm what European officials had long suspected: The rate increase was personal.
Mr. Trump said during the speech that he initially set the tariff rate at 30 percent. Then, he said, he received several calls from people from Switzerland pushing back on the rate, including the country’s president at the time, Karin Keller-Sutter.
“And she was very repetitive,” he said. “She said, ‘no, no no, you cannot do that, 30 percent. You cannot do that, we are a small, small country.’”
Mr. Trump said he told Ms. Keller-Sutter, whom he described as “so aggressive,” that the U.S. trade deficit with Switzerland was large relative to the size of the Alpine country.
Two-thirds of Swiss exports to the United States around that time were gold bullion and bars refined in Swiss foundries. The Swiss central bank has suggested that gold should not be counted in the trade balance sheet.
Mr. Trump continued: “She said, ‘No, no, no, please, you cannot do it,’ kept saying the same thing over and over: ‘We are small country.’ I said, ‘But you’re a big country in terms of’ — and she just rubbed me the wrong way, I’ll be honest with you.”
Mr. Trump, sounding frustrated as he retold the story, said he thanked Ms. Keller-Sutter and ended the call. “And I made it 39 percent,” he said.
Mr. Trump said that after he raised the rate, “All hell really broke out,” and that representatives from Rolex and others supporting Switzerland pushed to have the rate reduced. He eventually did cut the tariff to 15 percent. Ms. Keller-Sutter’s presidential term ended in December.
Mr. Trump said later in the speech that it was during the phone call with Ms. Keller-Sutter that he realized the United States was “keeping the whole world afloat.”
“I realized that without us, it’s not Switzerland anymore,” he said.
At another point in the speech, Mr. Trump singled out Switzerland — the host of the economic forum — again, saying, “They’re only good because of us.” The remark prompted some attendees to gasp.
Jim Tankersley and Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting.
Jonathan Wolfe is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news.
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