National flags of the U.S. and Switzerland are placed on tables before an event of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce in Zurich, Switzerland January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd WIegmann

By Dave Graham

ZURICH (Reuters) -The U.S. Commerce Department pressed Switzerland during recent trade talks to commit billions of dollars in investments that Washington could allocate at its discretion, but Swiss officials refused, according to two people familiar with the matter.

On November 14, the United States and Switzerland announced a framework agreement under which Washington would cut tariffs on Swiss goods to 15% from 39%, while Swiss companies pledged to invest $200 billion in the U.S. by the end of 2028.

That was 10 days after a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and a group of Swiss business leaders at the White House which helped accelerate talks to roll back tariffs Trump imposed in August, the sources said.

Back in September, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had urged Swiss negotiators to pledge investments for Washington to direct, similar to an accord the Trump administration said it had reached with Japan, the sources said.

During the final phase of negotiations this month, Lutnick again urged the Swiss to put billions of dollars in investment at the disposal of the United States, but Switzerland refused, one of the sources told Reuters.

The Commerce Department denied this.

"Secretary Lutnick did not meet with Swiss negotiators in October or November nor did he urge them to change any piece of the deal during its final phase," the Commerce Department said.

Alfred Gantner, co-founder of Partners Group and a member of the Swiss business delegation that met Trump, told Friday's edition of Switzerland's Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that top Swiss trade officials refused to put money at the disposal of the U.S.

"When the Americans demanded $100 billion to be used as they wished, as in the deal with Japan, they said Switzerland would never accept such a thing," Gantner said.

Gantner referenced Lutnick by name in the same context during a separate interview with Swiss national broadcaster SRF. He did not specify when the demand had been made.

The Swiss Economy Ministry said it would not comment on what was discussed and pointed to a statement issued two weeks ago in which Switzerland pledged to facilitate investment in the United States. It said the business delegation's meeting helped move talks forward.

Lutnick had previously said the U.S.-Japan deal could serve as a model for other countries, including in Europe.

After meeting the Swiss business delegation, Trump publicly instructed U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to resume tariff talks with Switzerland.

Neither Greer nor U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed the Swiss to grant the United States discretion over how Swiss investments should be spent as they worked towards securing a deal, one of the sources said.

Greer's office and the U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Dave GrahamAdditional reporting by Elisa MartinuzziEditing by Ros Russell)