THE 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.