ZURICH, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Swiss President Karin

Keller-Sutter declined to say whether her country could this

year strike a deal on tariffs with U.S. President Donald Trump,

following trade tensions that have strained relations between

the two nations.

"It's not possible to forecast," Keller-Sutter said in a

Tages-Anzeiger newspaper interview published on Friday when

asked about the possibility of an agreement in 2025. "Everything

depends on whether the U.S. president gives the green light or

not."

Following a call with Keller-Sutter in late July, Trump

imposed 39% tariffs on Switzerland in August, justifying them by

the size of the U.S. trade deficit with the Alpine country.

Keller-Sutter drew domestic criticism for her handling of

the call, and Trump later publicly complained she "didn't want

to listen" to his concerns about the U.S. deficit.

Since then, the Swiss government has been working to get a

better tariff deal with Trump, pitching a package of investment

pledges and proposals aimed at reducing the U.S. deficit.

Keller-Sutter, whose term in office under Switzerland's

one-year rotating presidency concludes at the end of 2025, said

Swiss officials are continuing to talk to the U.S. about

tariffs.

She observed that while U.S. tariffs affect less than 10% of

all Swiss goods exports, some areas are being hit hard, noting

that Swiss makers of machinery were already under pressure due

to challenges such as economic weakness in neighbouring Germany.

(Writing by Dave Graham, editing by Kirsti Knolle)