Switzerland's government will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to decide its next move after its president returned home empty-handed from an 11th-hour trip to Washington aimed at averting a crippling 39 percent US import tariff on Swiss goods.

An urgent meeting of the seven-member Federal Council – Switzerland's governing cabinet – will take place in Bern in the early afternoon on Thursday.

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter left Washington on Wednesday without a new deal and did not meet with US President Donald Trump or any of his top trade officials, two sources told Reuters.

Her proposal for a 10 percent tariff rate was rejected by US officials, one of the sources added.

Negotiations between Switzerland and the United States over tariffs will continue, but more time is needed to strike a deal, according to a Swiss source.

Keller-Sutter said on Wednesday she had a "very good meeting" with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with Swiss sources describing the exchange as "constructive" and conducted in a friendly atmosphere.

Following the expiration of Trump's tariff deadline, the new import duties took effect at midnight Washington time.

Dozens of countries that have failed to strike deals with Washington are facing new tariff rates that will replace a temporary 10 percent levy in place since April.

At 39 percent, the new rate applied to Swiss goods is among the highest implemented by Trump in his push to reshape global trade to the United States' advantage.

Switzerland was stunned by Trump's decision last week to apply the steep rate.

Industry associations and economists have warned it will inflict major damage on the country's export-orientated economy, threaten tens of thousands of jobs, and curtail economic growth. (Reuters)