Details about the recent phone call between Donald Trump and Swiss president concerning trade tariffs are revealed; employees in some sectors will earn more in 2025; and other news in our roundup on Monday.
Details emerge about how Donald Trump treated Swiss president during a phone call
An investigation which the Swiss media published on Sunday reveals how discussions between Karin Keller-Sutter and the US president at the end of July had degenerated.
When Keller-Sutter called Trump in an attempt to get a good tariff deal for Switzerland, “he reportedly threatened her, demanded direct payments, and also acted condescendingly toward his own staff.”
According to “well-informed sources” within the US administration, Tump “irritably mentioned Switzerland’s alleged $40 billion trade deficit the United States.”
But when Keller-Sutter countered that the trade deficit was not a loss for the United States [considering widely different market sizes],“this clearly angered Trump.”
He also reportedly mentioned that the EU “will pay me 600 billion dollars,” asking Keller-Suter “how much will you pay me?
(To clarify, Brussels pledged to invest $600 billion in various sectors of the US eonomy by 2029; the money was never intended to be a payout directly to or for Trump).
READ ALSO: Why Switzerland may not be able to renegotiate US tariffs
These jobs will offer higher wages in 2026
Despite trade conflicts and the 39-percent tariff on Swiss imports to the US, many companies in Switzerland expect to give their employees wage increases.
According to a survey by the KOF Economic Institute, companies are expecting an average nominal wage increase of 1.3 percent. With expected inflation rate of 0.5 percent, this would result in real wage growth of 0.8 percent.
However, pay hikes will vary from one sector to another.
Wages will increase most significantly in the construction industry – by around 1.7 percent. This is due to the shortage of skilled workers in this sector, as well as a strong union.
Employees in the hospitality, pharmaceutical, and financial sectors can also look forward to above-average wage increases.
However, the outlook is less positive in retail, wholesale, and manufacturing – where the increase is likely to be barely more than 1 percent.
On the other hand, export sectors such as watchmaking and mechanical engineering are particularly feeling the impact of the 39-percent tariffs on US-bound exports, so the wage situation there is not yet clear.
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Swiss students are becoming increasingly less proficient in German
In several German-speaking cantons, there is a clear downward trend in the German language performance.
Reading, writing, and grammar are becoming increasingly difficult for students at primary and secondary school levels, according to test scores carried out in Basel-City, Basel-Country, Solothurn, and Aargau.
The decline is particularly pronounced in grammar and spelling.
And the increasing proportion of students with a migrant background does not fully explain the trend, as native speakers also perform worse, tests have demonstrated.
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Expect cooler weather this week
In the next few day, the extreme heat of the last two weeks will be a thing of the past, according to MeteoSchweiz weather service.
After an initial cooling at the end of the weekend, the trend is expected to continue for the second half of this week.
“An active disturbance could defy the high pressure system established over western Europe to bring us humid and colder air,” MeteoSchweiz said.
Starting Thursday, August 21st, weather models “are showing a clear sign of cooling with precipitation.”
However, temperatures will remain warm, in the low to mid- 20s
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