Wyden Demands Answers About Trump's Swiss Tariffs That Were Arbitrarily Raised and Then Lowered After Trump Accepted a Rare Rolex and Gold Bar from Swiss Companies

While Americans Pay Unprecedented Taxes on Goods from Abroad Based on a Sham 'Emergency,' Wyden Questions whether USTR Is Setting Tariffs Based on Payoffs to Trump

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., demanded answers from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) about how it sets tariffs, following Donald Trump publicly admitting to assigning tariffs on Swiss goods arbitrarily and then reducing them after Swiss companies showered him with lavish gifts.

"The American public and U.S. importers and consumers who pay the tariffs are entitled to a government that pursues trade policy in the public interest, rather than on the basis of the President's whims," Wyden wrote in his letter to Ambassador Jamieson Greer.

Donald Trump has imposed tariffs, which are taxes on goods Americans buy from other countries, on scores of foreign nations based on unclear and arbitrary criteria, increasing the cost of everyday goods.

On July 31, 2025, Trump announced 39 percent tariffs on imports from Switzerland, claiming they were necessary to address an alleged national emergency linked to America's trade deficit. A few months later, Trump agreed to reduce the tariffs to 15 percent after Swiss business leaders presented him with a Rolex clock and a personalized gold bar worth more than $130,000. Trump's acceptance of gifts of significant monetary value just days before lowering tariffs on goods from Switzerland creates a blatant conflict of interest and possible constitutional violations. Wyden's letter also underscored that "this affair also creates a perception that lavishing gifts on the President, rather than negotiating with USTR, is the best way for trading partners to engage with the United States."

To better understand how Trump calculated the rate of tariffs imposed on Switzerland, Wyden demanded answers from USTR to the following questions no later than February 11, 2026:

1. Which Cabinet officials were involved in the decision to impose 39 percent tariffs on imports from Switzerland?

2. What is your understanding of the reason that the President or other officials determined that 39 percent was the appropriate tariff rate for Switzerland?

3. Which officials were involved in negotiating the Framework Agreement?

4. Which officials recommended that the tariffs on Swiss goods be reduced from 39 percent to 15 percent?

5. Did Swiss negotiators inform USTR about the gifts to President Trump either before or after they were presented to the President?

Wyden has repeatedly called out Trump's tariffs as reckless and unjustified. In 2025, Wyden introduced bipartisan legislation to repeal the global tariffs and restore congressional authority over trade. In October 2025, Wyden passed his bipartisan resolution to end Trump's global tariffs and called on the House to take it up for final passage. During that same month, Wyden demanded transparency and accountability from the Trump administration for the massive rise in so-called "national security" tariffs.

The text of the letter is here.

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