President Karin Keller-Sutter and Guy Parmelin have returned to Switzerland. At a press conference, they announced that further talks with the United States are planned.

Previous negotiation mistakes remain unaddressed.

Two days prior, President Keller-Sutter participated in a telephone negotiation with President Trump. However, according to various observers and an interview with President Trump, this conversation was characterized more as a statement from Switzerland regarding its position, rather than a negotiation.

Following the call, President Trump described Ms. Keller-Sutter's approach as "patronizing" and "moralizing," further noting that his perspectives were not considered.
Subsequently, the U.S. administration raised the proposed tariffs from 31% to 39%.
In response, there was significant concern within Switzerland, prompting Ms. Keller-Sutter to travel to Washington with a senior delegation in an effort to secure a last-minute agreement.

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The delegation has now returned without a meeting with President Trump and without achieving an agreement; as a result, the 39% tariff increase has come into force as of yesterday.

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What’s next?
From a negotiation standpoint, these points are now critical:

1.     If we like him or not, complaints about Trump should end; he is the US president and our negotiating counterpart.
2.     Moral superiority in negotiations is unhelpful.
3.     Negotiations are for resolving conflicts, not reiterating positions; all topics were clarified before the call.
4.     The negotiation process requires a new set-up with a new team—Ms. Keller-Sutter should participate only when failure is no longer an option.
5.     Initiate discreet "back-channel" negotiations to rebuild trust.