this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
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The United States has placed Switzerland on a list of countries with "unfair trade practices".

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago

Does Trump want to fuck with the impenetrable banking fortress nation that is Switzerland?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago

And we have been doing exactly what President Trump wants for a long time.

And now you can see where it put you. Nowhere.

[–] rxbudian 14 points 1 day ago

Welcome to the Trump's list of bad countries, lets trade with each other.
We're growing fast ...

[–] Adderbox76 52 points 2 days ago

Trump is all about pretenses.

There are the "reasons" he's making those decisions, and then there are the "pretenses" he uses when the opportunity comes around to make them.

Swiss banks hold a lot of money from oligarchs and billionaires. Putin wants pressure put on them. But Trump has to find the "pretense" to do it so as to at least nominally not be seen as a russian asset. But what a coincidence, Lindt announces that they're going to supply Canada directly from Europe to avoid his tariffs. And BOOM. Pretense established.

[–] [email protected] 151 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

Lmao what the actual fuck? Switzerland…? He’s going after the Swiss now…? I just… wow. What is happening.

Edit: it’s apparently about - and I shit you not - chocolate. And it’s their volume market brand. Not even the really good stuff.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

swiss banks have putins money in it.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

they probably hold billions in frozen Russian assets

[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Probably because Lindt said that they might supply Canada from Europe instead of the US.

Begun the chocolate wars have.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's getting harder and harder to laugh at shit like this. I mean, it's still funny, but it really is not.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I feel the exact same. It’s tragicomedic.

I laugh to hide the pain. The secret sixth stage of grief is gallows humor.

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[–] [email protected] 75 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Switzerland has a positive balance of trade in goods and therefore appears on this list.

Ah that's why...

We have good arguments. And we have been doing exactly what President Trump wants for a long time.

Maybe it's time to fucking stop pleasing the orange cunt, he doesn't care!

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 days ago (4 children)

This focus on the balance of trade is sooo stupid. The US spends more than it produces so it has an aggregate deficit on the trade balance. To stop this, you need to force Americans to spend less (I.e. ignite a recession), or produce more.

Tariffs against selected countries that have a strong bilateral trade surplus with the US will not affect the US’ aggregate trade balance, since it doesn’t affect consumption by/ or production of the US economy. This is common knowledge from econ 101, and shouldn’t need to be explained to a president that supposedly has a degree in business.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Lol.

As an American I would give my right nut to live there instead of here.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

As Belgian I do think Switzerland is one of the best countries on the entire planet. There's a reason why they have 30% immigrants, and it's not because German is a fun language to learn 😁

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

German

you do not need to learn german, switzerland has german, french and italian speaking regions

[–] [email protected] 102 points 2 days ago (6 children)

Europe needs to see that unity is the way to go. A united Europe is needed to stand against the mad kings in Russia and the US.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Europe, the place where 27 separate sovereign nations have formed a Union, needs to realise how important it is to be united?

Is that what you're saying?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago

Well tbey are commenting this on an article about switzerland, which is not in the EU. Though it is in Schengen and the EEA.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 days ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

Can we get a digital badge that the citizens of any advanced liberal democracy that Magastan labels as "bad" can proudly display on their socials?

[–] ahal 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Don't sully the "-stan" countries like that, they don't deserve that association.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Doesn't "Stan" just mean land of (these people)?

[–] ahal 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, it does. But I think the intent of "Magastan" is to draw a comparison to "those countries". But this is stooping down to Trump's level imo

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago (4 children)

How many months is it going to take for the Magats to realize they fucked America over?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

They won't, they're immensely supportiv"

I did not mean that Conservatives are generally stupid; I meant, that stupid persons are generally Conservative. .-- John Stuart Mille

These are Cipolla's five fundamental laws of stupidity:

  1. Always and inevitably, everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.

  2. The probability that a certain person (will) be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.

3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.

  1. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular, non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places, and under any circumstances, to deal and/or associate with stupid people always turns out to be a costly mistake.

  2. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Even if they self aware enough to see that, they will never admit it.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Empirical evidence says at least 100.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 days ago

Making quality products that people actually want to buy is a dishonest and abusive practice, I'm glad someone finally spoke up.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 2 days ago (3 children)

The US is on a way to piss off all of its trading partners and former allies.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We're never going to recover. He's speed running the fall of a nation.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago

At least Nero had some musical talent on display while Rome burned. This guy can't even dance.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What? Swiss banks been mean to Putin?

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 2 days ago (2 children)

He's either completely senile or doing Putin's bidding by destroying whatever is left of the US's international credibility.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago

Por que no los dos?

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 days ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 days ago (4 children)

He's doing the best Zapp Brannigan impression I've ever seen.

[–] Arghblarg 18 points 2 days ago

Well he really must hate those filthy neutrals.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The US is so fucked. People are not going to give the bully their lunch money. They’re going to team up against the bully.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago

LOL... well the clowns were elected to the presidency... why are we surprised at the never ending circus?!

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Switzerland might really be one of the few countries no one can ever take over. Even if no one else cared — they will — sending troops running up a mountain where everyone has rifle skills and hidden bunkers is definitely not a military strategy I ever heard of.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 days ago

...no one can fully ever take over.

ftfy

Reason why the country is what it is, is because quite a few have tried an kinda stuck around.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Fuck, I wish the government was this enthusiastic about unfair trade practices within its own country.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

Does that mean we have to stop calling it swiss cheese and start calling it holes cheese, or holy cheese?

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[–] DreadPirateSnuggles 33 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

✅ Putting holes in things and calling it freedom

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