T HE FIREWORKS celebrating the Rütlischwur , Switzerland’s foundational oath on August 1st 1291, had just subsided when Donald Trump announced that Swiss exports to America would soon face tariffs of 39%. It was a shock to Europe’s most stubbornly independent country. Karin Keller-Sutter, the president, flew to Washington on August 5th. As The Economist went to press, she seemed to have come back empty-handed.

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