Just days after assuming they had secured a trade understanding with Washington, Swiss officials are now in a diplomatic sprint to avoid some of the highest U.S. tariffs in the world.

According to The New York Times, Swiss leaders were under the impression that they had a framework trade deal in place with the White House ahead of the Trump administration's August 1 deadline for announcing sweeping reciprocal tariffs against dozens of nations. Once that day came, though, Switzerland's government was shocked to find itself with one of the highest tariff rates of any nation, set to take effect on August 7.

“We had no indication even in the last hours before the call of the president that it could end in this manner, and above all, no indication that we would be hit with such a punishment,” Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said in a local radio interview.

The proposed 39% rate from the U.S. is more than two-and-a-half times higher than the European Union's, and almost four times higher than the United Kingdom's. Should the levies take effect as scheduled, the only countries with higher tariffs would be Laos, Myanmar and Syria.

Leading up to the Trump administration's August 1 announcement, Parmelin said that he believed the Swiss government had conducted "good negotiations" with the U.S. However, Trump told reporters on August 2 that the Swiss government's overtures hadn't adequately addressed the $38.3 billion trade deficit the U.S. has with Switzerland, which is largely driven by Switzerland's status as the world's biggest hub for gold refining.

Industry groups in Switzerland have warned of a range of impacts should the U.S. move forward with 39% tariffs. The KOF Swiss Economic Institute tells The Times that even if the levies were to exclude pharmaceuticals, they would subtract 0.3% from the country's economic growth, and cost each Swiss citizen roughly 300 francs ($371) per year. If the tariffs include Switzerland's pharmaceutical exports, the economic hit would double, and could threaten to push the country into a recession. In addition to refined gold and pharmaceuticals, Switzerland's main exports to the U.S. include luxury watches, chocolate, coffee machines and skincare products.