US-Switzerland agreement reached/ Trump reduces tariffs to 15% after intensive negotiations, Swiss firms will invest $200 billion in the US

The United States and Switzerland will unveil details of a trade pact on Friday, with both sides reaching an agreement to significantly reduce tariffs recently imposed by President Donald Trump, officials said.

The progress was announced a day after talks in Washington, as the Alpine country's economy minister Guy Parmelin visited in hopes of easing the high tariffs the Trump administration imposed this year.

"We have essentially reached an agreement with Switzerland. So we will post the details of that today on the White House website," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC in an interview.

The Swiss government announced separately that Switzerland and the United States have reached an agreement where US tariffs will be reduced from their current level of 39% to 15%.

Trump shocked Switzerland in August when he imposed a 39% tax on imports of goods from the country, among the highest in his global tariff offensive.

But Greer told CNBC on Friday that the Swiss were expected to ship many of their products to the United States, such as pharmaceuticals, gold smelting and railway equipment.

The USTR office did not immediately respond to questions about further details of the expected trade pact.

The Swiss government has scheduled a press conference for 16:00 PM (15:00 GMT) to provide more details on the agreement, albinfo.ch reports.

Careful relief

Swissmem, the mechanical and electrical engineering industry association, expressed relief at Friday's announcement.

Swiss businesses have been concerned that their competitors in other wealthy economies will have an advantage over them, given that the European Union and Japan, among others, had previously negotiated lower tariff levels of 15 percent.

While Swissmem noted that the announced agreement offers some relief, its president Martin Hirzel warned: “The tariff reduction is a temporary relief for the tech industry, but we should not let our guard down. New tariffs could be introduced.”

He urged officials to make further efforts in reducing costs and opening new markets.

Last week, the heads of six major Swiss firms, including the heads of watchmaker Rolex and luxury goods giant Richemont, met with Trump to draw his attention to the impact his tariffs are having on their companies.

Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on trading partners around the world since returning to the presidency, with special taxes on specific sectors such as steel, aluminum and automobiles.

The high tariff rate endangers entire export-heavy sectors of the Swiss economy, particularly watchmaking and industrial machinery, but also chocolate and cheese.

While the pharmaceutical industry, Switzerland's largest export sector, had enjoyed an exemption from tariffs on medicines, it faced regular threats that Trump would soon target them as well.

The progress was announced a day after talks in Washington, as the Alpine country's economy minister Guy Parmelin visited in hopes of easing the high tariffs the Trump administration imposed this year.

"We have essentially reached an agreement with Switzerland. So we will post the details of that today on the White House website," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC in an interview.

The Swiss government announced separately that Switzerland and the United States have reached an agreement where US tariffs will be reduced from their current level of 39% to 15%.

Trump shocked Switzerland in August when he imposed a 39% tax on imports of goods from the country, among the highest in his global tariff offensive.

But Greer told CNBC on Friday that the Swiss were expected to ship many of their products to the United States, such as pharmaceuticals, gold smelting and railway equipment.

The USTR office did not immediately respond to questions about further details of the expected trade pact.

The Swiss government has scheduled a press conference for 16:00 PM (15:00 GMT) to provide more details on the agreement, albinfo.ch reports.

Careful relief

Swissmem, the mechanical and electrical engineering industry association, expressed relief at Friday's announcement.

Swiss businesses have been concerned that their competitors in other wealthy economies will have an advantage over them, given that the European Union and Japan, among others, had previously negotiated lower tariff levels of 15 percent.

While Swissmem noted that the announced agreement offers some relief, its president Martin Hirzel warned: “The tariff reduction is a temporary relief for the tech industry, but we should not let our guard down. New tariffs could be introduced.”

He urged officials to make further efforts in reducing costs and opening new markets.

Last week, the heads of six major Swiss firms, including the heads of watchmaker Rolex and luxury goods giant Richemont, met with Trump to draw his attention to the impact his tariffs are having on their companies.

Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on trading partners around the world since returning to the presidency, with special taxes on specific sectors such as steel, aluminum and automobiles.

The high tariff rate endangers entire export-heavy sectors of the Swiss economy, particularly watchmaking and industrial machinery, but also chocolate and cheese.

While the pharmaceutical industry, Switzerland's largest export sector, had enjoyed an exemption from tariffs on medicines, it faced regular threats that Trump would soon target them as well.