(Reuters) -Switzerland did not make a deal with the devil by agreeing a new tariff framework with the United States, Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said on Sunday, rejecting criticism that it amounted to “surrender” in Donald Trump’s trade war.

The non-binding framework trade agreement, announced on Friday, promises a lower U.S. import tariff rate of 15% for Switzerland – down from 39% – in return for $200 billion in investments by Swiss companies in the U.S.

“We haven’t sold our soul to the devil,” Parmelin said in an interview with the Tagesanzeiger newspaper.

The minister said he was “satisfied” with the deal and argued that Swiss companies had been eyeing more U.S.-based production even before Trump.

Swiss industrial groups have welcomed the agreement, which puts companies on an equ

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