The Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce drew representatives from its chapters all across the United States for its first-ever organizational meeting, a conference that officials hope will become an annual event.
The meeting, held at the offices of Atlanta-based law firm Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP, was initiated by Ulrich Hunn, consul general for Switzerland in Atlanta, who told GlobalAtlanta that he works closely with the Swiss chamber and the Swiss Business Hub to creatively promote business between Switzerland and the U.S.
“I thought it would be nice to see each other once a year because (the chamber’s individual chapters) have the same problems as well as the same goals,” said Mr. Hunn, who is an ex officio board member of the Swiss-American chamber’s Atlanta chapter.
As an honored guest, the all-day meeting featured Swiss ambassador to the United States, Urs Ziswiler, who was making his third visit to Atlanta in the approximately 18 months he has held his position.
So far, Atlanta is Mr. Ziswiler’s most-visited city after New York, which “shows clearly how important Atlanta is as a booming city,” Mr. Ziswiler told an audience at a luncheon following morning presentations.
In Mr. Ziswiler’s luncheon presentation, he focused on how intertwined the economies of the U.S. and Switzerland have become, with each country providing a substantial market to the other not only for direct investment, but also for the export of goods.
“Our economy depends very largely on exports. If our export system has a cold, our whole economic system has at least pneumonia,” said Mr. Ziswiler, who added that exports from Switzerland have grown 50 percent since 1991.
The United States is Switzerland’s second largest export destination behind Germany, and there are some 500 Swiss companies in the U.S., creating a total of about a half-million jobs, Mr. Ziswiler told GlobalAtlanta in a video interview.
“And not Wal-mart jobs, but $70,000-and-upward jobs,” he said.
About 35-40 of these companies are in Georgia, according to Kimberly Corradi, trade commissioner of the Atlanta chapter of the Swiss Business Hub, an organization she said operates within the consulate general’s office and aims to help Swiss businesses expand into the U.S. market.
In the other direction, the United States has a massive presence of about 650 companies in Switzerland, with many basing their European or Middle Eastern headquarters there because of the political stability, relatively liberal labor market, tax structure and expat-friendly education system, Mr. Ziswiler said.
Martin Naville, CEO of the Swiss American chamber’s headquarters in Zurich, also addressed the luncheon audience, using statistics to delineate the necessity of promoting and maintaining business ties between Switzerland and America.
“In proportion to the total population, Switzerland has three times the amount of Fortune 500 companies as the U.S.,” Mr. Naville said. “From America’s perspective, Switzerland is the fourth largest destination for American investment abroad.”
He added that despite the fact that political factors threaten to strain today’s U.S.-Swiss relations, both countries should look toward their common democratic heritage and business goals to continue to develop already strong economic partnerships.
“At the end of the day, we must talk about the numbers,” he said.
In meetings after the luncheon, a representative from the chamber’s New York chapter tentatively pledged to host the second annual organizational meeting next year, according to the ambassador.
For more information about U.S.-Swiss economic relations, view the above videos featuring Mr. Ziswiler and Mr. Naville.
Story Contacts, Links and Related Stories
Consulate General of Switzerland – Ulrich Hunn, consul general (404) 870-2000
Swiss Business Hub USA – Atlanta Branch – Kimberly Corradi,
trade commissioner (404) 870-2010