Switzerland wanted 1% U.S. tariff in negotiations, says Trump
Switzerland wanted 1% tariff on goods imported into the country, according to U.S. President Donald Trump’s account of the negotiations ahead of his threat to hit the Alpine country with 39% tariffs.
Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter “didn’t want to listen” to his concerns about the U.S. trade deficit with Switzerland.
The U.S. trade deficit with Switzerland stood at $38.3 billion in 2024, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Meanwhile, the U.S. exported $35 billion surplus in services.
“I said, we have a $41 billion deficit, and you want to pay 1% tariff?” exclaimed Trump. “She wanted 1%. I said, you’re not going to pay 1%. We lose because I view deficit [as] lost.”
The Swiss President’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The threated 39% tariff on Switzerland came as a shock to the nation. Indications in the Swiss press had been that the country was close to negotiating an outline deal similar to those struck by the European Union, the U.K. and Japan, which set baseline tariffs between 10% and 15%. Instead, it has received one of the highest rates of any country.
Switzerland’s President Keller-Sutter and Vice President Guy Parmelin on Tuesday announced they were flying to the U.S. to “facilitate meetings with the U.S. authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation for Switzerland.”
— Ganesh Rao
Trump calls $600 billion investment pledge from EU a ‘gift’
U.S. President Donald Trump has described the $600 billion dollar investment pledge from the European Union, which is part of the trade agreement between the partners, a “gift.”
Trump suggested, in a CNBC interview on Tuesday, some countries had questioned why their tariff rate was higher than the 15% agreed with the EU, “and I said, because they gave me $600 billion and that’s a gift, that’s not like a loan.”
“They gave us $600 billion that we can invest in anything we want,” he said.
In the European Commission’s explanation of the U.S.-EU agreement, it says that “EU companies have expressed interest in investing at least $600 billion (ca. €550 billion) in various sectors in the US by 2029.”
It is unclear if the EU can guarantee the investments from the private sector.
Trump on CNBC was also asked what could happen if the investment does not materialize.
“Then they pay tariffs at 35% No, no. They brought down their tariffs, so they paid $600 billion and because of that, I reduced their tariffs from 30% down to 15%,” he responded.
— Sophie Kiderlin
European pharma firms unrattled by Trump 250% tariff threat
Trump joins ‘Squawk Box’ to discuss chips, pharma and more
President Donald Trump spoke with “Squawk Box” in a wide-ranging conversation. Here are some of the highlights:
On semiconductors, Trump said his administration is going to announce new tariffs “within the next week or so.” “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category, because we want them made in the United States,” he said during the interview.
When it comes to his planned pharmaceutical tariffs, Trump said that the levies could eventually reach up to 250%. That’s the highest tariff rate he’s threatened to date.
The president also revealed in the interview that he’s considering four candidates for future Federal Reserve chair, which does not include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Well, I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,” Trump said.
— Kevin Breuninger, Annika Kim Constantino, Jeff Cox, Sean Conlon
Swiss stocks rebound as president flies to U.S. for trade talks
Swiss stocks have reversed all of Monday’s 0.15% losses, with the SMI index last 0.63% higher at 12:30 p.m. in London at a session high.
Swiss Market Index.
While the news of a 39% U.S. tariff rate sparked warnings of a huge economic hit and damage to markets last week, investors appear to be focusing on the potential for negotiators to strike a last-minute deal with the White House, whether before or after the Aug. 7 deadline.
Switzerland’s President Karin Keller-Sutter and Vice President Guy Parmelin on Tuesday announced they were flying to the U.S. to “facilitate meetings with the U.S. authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation for Switzerland.”
The Swiss government on Monday said that it would look to present a more “attractive offer” to the U.S. and that it was not currently considering countermeasures.
European markets are broadly higher, with Germany’s DAX up 0.78% and the regional Stoxx 600 up 0.46%.
— Jenni Reid
Why investors have welcomed Diageo’s results
Diageo shares have pared gains, last trading around 3% higher as investors digest the drinks maker’s earnings report. CNBC’s Karen Tso dives into the details.

Infineon up 5% as CFO says tariff impact less severe than thought
Shares of Infineon are up 5% after the German semiconductor beat on adjusted earnings per share in the latest quarter, coming in at 37 cents ($0.43) versus an LSEG estimate of 33 cents.
That was on the back of 3.7 billion euros in revenue, in-line with expectations and virtually unchanged on the year.
Infineon is the latest European firm to flag the impact of a strong euro on its revenue growth, saying the figure would have come in 9% higher on the year if not for euro appreciation, versus the 3% growth it reported.
Infineon CFO Sven Schneider told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” that the indirect impact from tariffs on the business remained difficult to estimate because its customers were not providing full feedback, but that it appeared to be “less pronounced than we originally thought,” leading to “some growth momentum in the current quarter.”

— Jordan Butt, Jenni Reid
Diageo shares rise on cost-cutting plans despite $200 million anticipated tariff hit

British drinks maker Diageo has forecast flat sales growth in 2026 as its once again raised its anticipated tariff hit to $200 million annually and increased its cost-savings target to to $625 million.
The Guinness and Johnnie Walker maker previously forecast a $150 million annual hit to operating profits as a results of tariffs, but raised the figure on the basis of current 15% levies of imports from the European Union and 10% charges on those from the U.K.
Shares of Diageo rose 6.8% by 8:20 a.m. London time (3:20 a.m. ET).
The company said it now expects sales growth in the fiscal year to June 2026 to be similar to that of 2025, and organic operating profit growth to be mid-single-digit, including the impact of tariffs.
Diageo posted organic sales growth of 1.7% for the full year 2025, in line with analyst expectations, and organic volume growth of 0.9%.
The company said it expects to save around $625 million over the next three years under its “Accelerate” cost-cutting program, up from $500 million previously. Interim CEO Nik Jhangiani said the board intends to appoint a new CEO by October following the abrupt departure of CEO Debra Crew last month.
Diageo share price.
European stocks open higher
Stoxx 600 index.
Earnings back in focus
After a relatively quiet day for European earnings, the calendar is packed today. That includes second-quarter reports from oil giant BP and fashion house Hugo Boss.
We’ve also seen results from staffing firm Adecco Group, which posted better than expected second-quarter operating income that was up 6% to 115 million euros ($132.8 million), and said it expected profitability to improve in the second half.
French satellite operator Eutelsat also beat expectations with revenue growth of 1.6% to 1.24 billion euros, driven by growing interest in its satellite internet services from government and corporate customers, even as operating losses widened to 909 million euros from 310 million euros. Read more about Europe’s aspiring challenger to Elon Musk’s satellite operator Starlink here.
Germany’s Fresenius Medical Care fell short of market estimates with adjusted operating income of 476 million euros, citing higher than expected patient outflows amid “elevated” mortality and missed treatments. The firm nonetheless confirmed its full-year guidance after sales and profit both rose.
— Jenni Reid, Jonathan Stayton, Domi Suskova
BP posts profit beat
Britain’s BP posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit, following a period of heightened volatility for global oil and gas prices.
The struggling energy major reported underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $2.35 billion for the three months through June. That beat analyst expectations of $1.81 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
The results come as BP continues to try to rebuild investor confidence following a protracted period of underperformance relative to its industry peers.

“Inside the upstream, we’ve had tremendous performance, along with record operating efficiency [and] along with starting up five new major projects,” BP CEO Murray Auchincloss told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” following the results.
— Sam Meredith
Hugo Boss second quarter sales beat expectations, despite China weakness
Façade and window displays of the Boss store by Hugo Boss, in the Salamanca district, on 25 February, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.
Europa Press News | Getty Images
German fashion house Hugo Boss posted a better-than-feared dip in second quarter sales and maintained its full-year guidance, despite flagging weakness in the key Chinese market.
Group revenues dipped 1% year-on-year on a constant currency basis to 1 billion euros ($1.15 billion) over the three month period, slightly ahead of the 996 million euros forecast by analysts in an LSEG poll.
Quarterly operating profit rose 15% to 81 million euros, in line with estimates.
The suit maker pointed to “subdued” demand in the once lucrative Chinese market, as Asia Pacific sales fell 5%. But it nevertheless maintained its full-year guidance for reported group sales in line with last year’s, at around 4.2 billion to 4.4 billion euros, and for operating profit to grow 5% to 22%.
— Karen Gilchrist
Good morning, here are the opening calls
Skyline view of the City of London financial district from the viewpoint in Greenwich Park in London, United Kingdom.
Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images
Good morning from London, and welcome to CNBC’s live blog covering all the action and business news in European financial markets on Tuesday.
Futures data from IG suggests a broadly positive open for European indexes, with London’s FTSE 100 seen opening 0.3% higher, France’s CAC 40 up 0.1%, Germany’s DAX up 0.2%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB 0.1% higher.
Investors on Tuesday will be assessing more tariff news after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to significantly raise tariffs on Indian exports to the U.S.
“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits,” Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.
India responded by saying it was being “targeted” by the U.S. and the European Union over its imports of Russian oil. India markets slipped at the open as investors kept an eye on trade developments between the U.S. and the South Asian nation. Asia-Pacific markets elsewhere traded broadly higher.
U.S. stock futures were slightly higher on Monday night, following a rebound on Wall Street on Monday, as investors followed the latest batch of corporate earnings.
— Holly Ellyatt
What to keep an eye on Tuesday
Trowbridge in Somerset, England, on March 15, 2025.
Anna Barclay | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Investors will be keeping an eye on earnings from BP, Diageo, DHL, Infineon and Banco BPM. Middle Eastern oil giant Saudi Aramco will also release an earnings update.
French industrial production data is due.
— Holly Ellyatt