United States Reaches Draft Trade Pacts With Several Countries

Last week, President Donald Trump announced he had reached a framework for new trade agreements with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Under the outlines of the pact, the U.S. government and its trading partners pledged to work “expeditiously” to conclude negotiations in early 2026 and finalize the agreements then.

As Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. explained, the pact calls for:

• The U.S. government to apply the higher of its most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff rate or 15 percent (comprised of the MFN tariff and a “reciprocal” tariff) on goods originating from Switzerland and Liechtenstein. That rate would represent a significant reduction from the current 39 percent rate.
• The U.S. government to ensure that the MFN tariff and the Section 232 tariff do not exceed 15 percent for originating pharmaceutical goods and semiconductors of Switzerland and Liechtenstein subject to Section 232 tariffs.
• The U.S. government to positively consider the effect of the agreement on national security, including when taking action under Section 232.
• The three countries to cooperate on matters relating to transshipment and circumvention practices.
• Switzerland to facilitate the recognition of the United States’ Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and accept medical devices cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• The three countries to increase cooperation on labor-related trade issues and to work to address forced labor, including forced child labor, and the worst forms of child labor in supply chains.
• The U.S. and the Swiss governments to foster the use of technology to allow for full pre-arrival processing, paperless trade, and digitalized customs procedures.
• The three countries to address non-market policies of third countries and expand cooperation on export controls, sanctions, and investment screening.

President Trump also reached new agreements with Ecuador and Argentina last week. As part of these pacts:

• Ecuador will reduce or eliminate tariffs in key sectors including machinery, health products, information and communication technology goods, chemicals, motor vehicles, and certain agricultural products; and
• Argentina will provide “preferential market access” for U.S. exports of certain machinery, information technology and agricultural products, medical devices, motor vehicles, and more.