Red Thread Switzerland – What Matters Today, August 5: Trump Provokes, Geneva Warns, Bern Hesitates
Dear community, this is the launch of my new weekly series: From Monday to Friday, I’ll deliver a compact, left-wing analysis of the most important news with a connection to Switzerland. Today, Tuesday, 5 August 2025, much revolves around Donald Trump’s massive tariff sledgehammer, academic freedom, and the remembrance of the Hiroshima catastrophe.
Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash
- Trump’s 39% tariff hits export-oriented Switzerland hard
The economist in me is bleeding: On Friday, US President Donald Trump unexpectedly imposed a 39% import tariff on Swiss goods. Switzerland had assumed, after a phone call with Federal President Karin Keller-Sutter, that it would only have to pay ten percent; now, 60% of exports – including machinery, watches, chocolate, and pharmaceuticals – are being heavily penalized.
The conservative government in Bern now wants to send a “more attractive offer” to Washington and even import liquefied natural gas from the US. But don’t we, as an export-strong country, have the right to fair trade relations? While Swiss corporate bosses are mulling over new investments in America, tens of thousands of workers fear for their jobs, and left-wing parties are demanding countermeasures such as stopping the billion-dollar F-35 fighter jet deal.
Instead of giving in, we need a solidarity-based economic policy that defends the interests of wage earners and promotes ecological transformation.
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- Academic freedom: Europe courts US researchers, Bern stays on the sidelines
The Trump administration is massively cutting research funding; in the US, grants have already been slashed, and by 2026, 43 billion dollars will be gone.
Europe’s response: The EU launched the campaign “Choose Europe for Science,” aiming to lure US researchers to migrate. Swiss researchers could have benefited from this, but our government refuses to participate. It claims it doesn’t want to support a “PR stunt,” arguing that the research landscape is attractive enough without the EU.
As a leftist, I say: international exchange is not a luxury but the core of democratic science. Precisely because Trump is harassing researchers, Switzerland should act in solidarity. Our country invests 31.3 billion francs in research every year, but without joint programs, we risk isolation. Instead of national egos, we need stronger cooperation with European partners, democratically controlled research budgets, and a clear stance against authoritarian hostility to science.
Photo by Caitlin James on Unsplash
- 80 years of Hiroshima: A reminder from Geneva for a world without nuclear weapons
Over the weekend, people worldwide commemorated the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In Geneva, survivor Michiko Kodama spoke, warning that the new arms race cycle increases the risk of nuclear war. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), based in Geneva, reminded the public that global nuclear weapons spending is rising and that the scientists’ “Doomsday Clock” is now set at 89 seconds to midnight.
This warning is especially relevant for Switzerland: our country hosts disarmament talks and holds moral weight. A leftist, humanist understanding demands that we clearly stand for nuclear disarmament and stop investing – whether through banks or pension funds – in arms companies. The memory of Hiroshima obliges us to stand up for peace, social justice, and ecological sustainability.
This was the first edition of my weekday series. Stay tuned – tomorrow I’ll report on more topics from Switzerland and abroad from a left-wing perspective. Feel free to share your thoughts and links in the comments.
This article is a translated version of my original post in German. The translation was generated using AI.