President Donald Trump shared an unusual backstory Tuesday about why he decided to jack up tariffs on Switzerland. Turns out, he wasn't thrilled with a phone call he had with the country's former leader.

The Phone Call That Changed Everything

Speaking with Fox Business's Larry Kudlow, Trump explained that he thought he was talking to Switzerland's prime minister—describing her as "nice, but very aggressive." The issue? She kept emphasizing how small Switzerland is as a country.

"We are a small country," she apparently said, over and over. Trump found this particularly grating. "Again and again and again. I couldn't get her off the phone," he recalled. So instead of lowering tariffs as might have been expected, he went the other direction—raising them from 30% to 39%.

Trump was likely referring to former Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who stepped down at the end of December.

The Bigger Trade Picture

This tariff bump comes amid a complex trade relationship between the two countries. Back in August 2025, the U.S. slapped tariffs on Swiss gold imports. Then in November 2025, Trump announced a massive $200 billion trade deal with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, designed to wipe out a $38.5 billion goods trade deficit by 2028.

Political Pushback Intensifies

Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee weren't buying Trump's reasoning, arguing his tariff policies lack any real national security foundation. They called for bipartisan action to stop what they termed reckless behavior.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, three House Republicans broke ranks and joined Democrats in opposing a ban on snap votes to repeal presidential tariffs. That allowed Democrats to push forward a resolution aimed at revoking Trump's emergency tariff declaration on Canada.