Switzerland's agreement last month to get the U.S. to lower tariffs on the country will be backdated to take effect on the day the deal was announced.

The reduction will cut the levy from 39%, a punitive rate that was the highest placed on any developed country, to 15%. Switzerland's government announced the retroactive implementation -- applying from Nov. 14 -- in a statement Wednesday.

President Donald Trump's surcharge decision this summer had dealt a severe blow to the export-focused economy. After months of negotiations between officials, it was a high-profile intervention by a group of Swiss billionaires -- who visited Trump in the Oval Office -- that made the president agree to cut the levies in return for a $200 billion investment pledge from Swiss businesses.

Until Wednesday's

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