Lufthansa ready to fly to Switzerland's aid

Since Donald Trump's decision to impose 39% tariffs on Swiss products, there has reportedly been "creative chaos" at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. A host of business leaders have reportedly offered their help, according to Wednesday's Tages-Anzeiger. Among the offers was that of the Lufthansa Group.

The German airline, which owns Swiss, has reportedly submitted a "creative accounting" idea to the Federal Council. It is proposing to purchase its next Boeing aircraft through Switzerland. The stakes are high, as Lufthansa plans to acquire some 100 American aircraft over the next seven years for nearly 21 billion francs.

Lufthansa normally purchases its aircraft through leasing companies based in low-tax countries like Ireland or Malta, which then lease them to the group's airlines. But if the company were to purchase through Switzerland, our $40 billion trade deficit with the US would be significantly reduced. This could then be interpreted as a success by Donald Trump.

If Lufthansa is keen to help Switzerland, it's not for Karin Keller-Sutter's sake. What interests her is the prosperity of Swiss, the only airline in the group to have made a profit in the first half of this year. But it is also highly dependent on the American market, Tagi points out. The newspaper also states that the idea of processing via Switzerland was already under consideration before the tariffs were announced.

When asked, Seco did not comment on this deal. Swiss, for its part, indicated that its boss had discussed in the United States "the framework conditions for aircraft imports and possible options - for Lufthansa, Swiss, as well as the United States and American companies."

Let us recall that Bern would rather consider buying American weapons to reduce taxes, our Minister of Defense, Martin Pfister, announced on Sunday.