Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who also serves as Switzerland’s economy minister, will visit the United States next week and hold talks with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the Swiss government said on Thursday. The trip is part of a broader North American tour running from June 29 to July 9 that will include stops in Canada and Mexico.
The visit comes as Bern works to convert a preliminary understanding with the Trump administration on import duties into a formal accord. Last summer the U.S. had imposed the highest European tariff on Swiss goods, setting a 39% duty on products imported from Switzerland. In November, Swiss and U.S. officials reached an initial agreement that reduced that rate to 15%, aligning it with the European Union level. Switzerland has since engaged in talks aimed at formalising that arrangement.
Parmelin’s North American schedule includes attending Switzerland’s soccer World Cup match in Vancouver on July 2. Following the Canada leg of the trip, he will travel to Mexico, where meetings are planned with President Claudia Sheinbaum and various Mexican ministers, according to the economy ministry.
The Swiss government said one of its medium-term objectives is to update the free trade agreement between the European Free Trade Association and Mexico, which has been in force for around 25 years. Switzerland is the largest economy within EFTA, a grouping that also includes Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The trip is intended to advance the formalisation of the U.S. tariff deal and to pursue broader trade discussions in the region. Details published by the economy ministry focus on the itinerary and the diplomatic engagements scheduled during the June 29 to July 9 period.
Public statements from Bern described planned bilateral meetings without disclosing additional negotiation details or timelines for finalising agreements. The Swiss government framed the Mexico discussions in part around modernising the EFTA-Mexico free trade framework, reflecting a stated medium-term strategy to refresh trade arrangements that have been in place for approximately a quarter-century.
As scheduled, Parmelin will meet U.S. trade officials next week and proceed to Canada and Mexico for the remaining elements of the trip. The Swiss economy ministry provided the travel dates and the list of engagements while noting ongoing conversations to formalise the earlier tariff relief achieved in November.