Switzerland Trade and Investment Statistical Note

International trade, foreign direct investment and

global value chains

2017

SWITZERLAND TRADE AND INVESTMENT STATISTICAL NOTE

International trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) are the main defining features and key drivers of global value chains (GVCs). However, despite their strong complementarities, the two flows are typically presented and treated separately in the statistical information system. Drawing on new and improved measures of trade and investment, this country note provides relevant statistical information from OECD databases on trade, investment, the activities of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and global value chains (TiVA). It sheds new light on the trade-investment nexus by highlighting the interrelationships between trade and FDI, their economic impact in the context of GVCs, and the role of MNEs as the main directors of these flows. The data are as of 1 May 2017. More information and country notes are available at www.oecd.org/investment/trade- investment-gvc.htm.

Switzerland is an open and internationally engaged economy, reflected in high volumes of both gross and value added trade and investment. Almost 40% (in 2014) of economic activity (GDP) in Switzerland depends on foreign markets, one of the highest in the OECD. Switzerland’s outward investment (over 150% of GDP in 2015) was larger than its inward investment (107% of GDP). A broader notion of international orientation, which captures the impact on national income of exports and sales through foreign affiliates, would likely show that Switzerland has a higher international orientation than trade data alone suggest due to the activity of its affiliates overseas.

Gross bilateral trade figures can disguise the true nature of trade interdependencies, particularly between final consumers in one country and producers at upstream parts of the value chain. For example, gross figures suggest that Germany is the top destination for Swiss exports; however, from a value added point of view, the United States is actually the main consumer of Swiss production.

The top manufacturing exporting industries in Switzerland are chemicals and chemical products (CHM), computers and electronics (CEQ) and machinery and equipment (MEQ). The Swiss manufacturing industries are very export orientated and in some industries also have a relatively high import content of exports. Over time (2000-2014), those industries that have become more export orientated are also those that have increased their import content of exports. Switzerland has one of the highest services content in its exports at 63%, and this is correlated with a relatively high share of its inward investment going to the services sector.

©OECD 2017 www.oecd.org/investment/trade-investment-gvc.htm Trade and Investment in Switzerland

Growth in trade has fluctuated since the global and euro crises

Like many European economies, Swiss trade contracted at the height of the global crisis and again during the euro crisis. Swiss growth rates also fell sharply in 2014 but this likely reflects the currency appreciation and conversion to the USD. Growth in Swiss trade moved broadly in line with OECD rates pre-crisis, but they have diverged substantially since 2008. In 2015, Swiss export growth was 2.3% and import growth was 4.5%, slightly below the OECD rate.

Figure 1. Growth rates of trade and GDP for the OECD and Switzerland, 2001-2016 20 15

10 5 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Growth Rates Growth -5 -10 -15 Switzerland GDP OECD GDP Switzerland Exports OECD Exports Switzerland Imports OECD Imports

Source: OECD SNA

Gross exports amounted to USD 422 billion in 2015 (65% of GDP), and gross imports to USD 343 billion (53% of GDP). Gross trade figures, however, overstate the ‘real’ contribution of trade to the economy. In value-added terms, exports contributed 40% of total GDP in 2014, similar to recent years and above the OECD median (grey diamond). The contribution of direct and indirect imports to domestic final demand measured 25% in 2014.

Figure 2. Trade in value added terms, imports and exports, 2001-2014 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Imports (Foreign value added in domestic final demand) Exports (Domestic value added in foreign final demand) OECD Exports (Domestic value added in foreign final demand- median)

Source: OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added Data

Investment is more outward than inward

Switzerland is an extremely open economy; inward direct investment was equivalent to 107% of GDP in 2015, and outward FDI stocks were over 150% of GDP. The difference in the stocks reflects Switzerland’s strong outward investment orientation (Figure 3). In 2015, Switzerland’s share of the OECD total inward FDI stock (4.4%) was more than three times higher than its share of GDP (1.3%), and its share in outward stock was higher still at 5.3% of the OECD total (Figure 4).

2 Figure 3. FDI stocks and income as a share of GDP Figure 4. FDI stocks and GDP as a 180 16 share of OECD total, 2015 160 14 6.0% 140 12

120 5.0%

10 100 8 4.0%

80 % GDP % 6 GDP % 60 3.0% 4 40 2.0% 20 2 1.0% 0 0 2014 2015 0.0% Inward FDI stock Outward FDI Stock GDP Inward Outward Income payments Income receipts

Source: OECD FDI Statistics (BMD4) Source: OECD FDI Statistics (BMD4)

…and are more export intensive than Figure 5. Export and import intensity of domestic domestically owned firms and foreign-owned enterprises 30% On average, foreign-owned firms in the OECD are more export intensive (share of exports in turnover) 25% than domestically owned firms. The import 20% intensity of foreign-owned firms (share of imports 15% in purchases) is also typically higher for foreign- 10% owned than domestic firms. 5%

Domestic MNEs can provide important 0% OECD Median OECD Median channels to penetrate foreign markets via affiliates… Export Intensity Import Intensity Domestic-owned firms Foreign-owned firms In 2015, Switzerland received USD 91 billion in Source: OECD AMNE and Trade by Enterprise income from its outward investment, equivalent to Characteristics (TEC) statistics (2011) approximately 14% of GDP. Switzerland’s rate of return at 9% (green bar) on its outward FDI is one of the highest in the OECD. On the other side, the return to foreign investors in Switzerland was 8% in 2015, also at the higher end of OECD countries.

Figure 6. Return on investment, income receipts and payments as a share of inward and outward stocks, 2015 18%

13%

-2%

ISL

IRL

ITA

FIN

EST

BEL

ESP CZE

NZL

CHL

PRT

SVK

LVA

LUX

FRA

POL

CHE

TUR

NLD

SVN

AUS USA GRC

AUT

GBR

DEU

CAN

DNK

SWE

NOR HUN Inward FDI return Outward FDI Return

Source: OECD FDI Statistics (BMD4)

3 …and via exports Figure 7. Goods Exports by firm type, the role of MNEs 100%

Looking across a selection of European 80% economies, MNEs play a significant role in 60% GVC integration. In some countries it is through the activity of MNE parents, while 40%

for other it is foreign-owned firms. In each exports Goods % 20%

country with available data, at least half of 0% all goods exports are conducted by MNEs. AUT DNK FIN FRA HUN ITA POL PRT Foreign-owned firms Domestic MNEs Domestic firms

Source: OECD TEC statistics (2011) Switzerland’s export orientation is high relative to many similar sized economies

Spotlight Exports (in value added terms) contribute around 40% of Swiss GDP; this is relatively high compared to on GVCs other OECD economies and comparable with the Netherlands, reflecting the openness of the Swiss economy. However, relative to other countries with similar export orientation, Switzerland has a low import content of exports, an indicator of GVC integration. However given the strength of its domestic MNEs, it is likely that they play an important role in Switzerland's GVC integration. Export orientation has generally remained at the higher level reached before the crisis (see insert chart).

Figure 8. Export orientation, foreign affiliates value added and import content of exports, 2014 80% 70% 60%

50%

40%

% GDP % 30% 20% 10% 0%

Domestic value added in foreign final demand (% of total domestic value added) Value added produced by foreign controlled enterprsies (share of domestic total) Foreign value aded in exports (% in exports)

Source: OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added Data and OECD AMNE statistics

And not all of the domestic value added content of exports sticks in the economy…

Gross export figures overstate the real economic impacts of trade to the exporting economy, but TiVA estimates can also overstate these impacts as the profits earned by foreign-owned firms through exports are repatriated if they are not reinvested. Figure 9 illustrates the importance of these flows across countries by showing the value added in exports of domestically-owned firms (blue bar), wages paid by foreign-owned firms (green bar), and profits of foreign-owned firms (grey bar), which in practice can be repatriated. The split cannot be calculated for Switzerland due to data availability.

4 Figure 9. Exports by ownership and their contribution to income, as a share of GDP, 2014 80% 70% 60% 50% 40%

% GDP GDP % 30% 20% 10% 0% LUX SVN CZE EST SVK HUN CHE BEL AUT LVA NLD SWE NOR DEU DNK POL PRT FIN ESP ITA GRC FRA GBR USA

VA that could be repatriated Labour costs of foreign firms Value added by domestic firms Source: OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added Data, OECD AMNE statistics.

Taking a broader view by including the income of foreign affiliates can provide a more complete picture of the international orientation of the domestic economy.

Firms serve foreign markets by exporting or by selling through their foreign affiliates. Figure 10 takes a broader view of an economy’s international orientation by taking account of both trade and investment. The chart begins with the domestic value added in exports that remains in the economy – exports of value added by domestic firms (blue bar) and wages paid by foreign-owned firms associated with exporting (grey bar) – and adds to it the profits that domestic MNEs receive from the activities of their foreign affiliates as measured by FDI income receipts (light blue bar). The income payments made to foreign parents are presented for information purposes (green bar). This broader measure cannot be calculated for Switzerland due to data availability; however, it would likely be higher than the export orientation measure because Switzerland is a net outward direct investor.

Figure 10. Supplying markets through trade and investment: a broader perspective, 2014 90%

70%

50%

30% % GDP % 10%

-10% LUX SVN EST NLD CZE SWE HUN SVK BEL DNK AUT LVA NOR DEU PRT POL ESP FIN ITA GRC FRA GBR USA -30% VA repatriated to parent by affiliates Labour costs of foreign firms associated with exports VA by domestic firms that serves foreign final demand VA repatriated to parent

Source: OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added Data, OECD AMNE and OECD FDI (BMD4) statistics

This broader perspective can also shed light on how foreign firms serve the domestic market

Foreign producers supply products and services for final consumption through trade (foreign value added in domestic final demand) blue bar, and sales by foreign affiliates sold domestically (green and grey bar) (Figure 11). Foreign production can be split between labour costs and profits, the profit component of value added by foreign-owned firms can be repatriated to the parents. Due to limited data availability, the following chart cannot be reproduced for Switzerland, but it is likely that foreign firms serve the Swiss market more through trade than through investment as in other economies.

5 Figure 11. How foreign firms serve your market: a value added perspective, 2014 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% EST LUX HUN LVA SVK SVN AUT POL SWE PRT FIN GBR DNK FRA NLD ITA USA

Share of profits in VA of foreign-owned firms (sold domestically) Share of labour costs in VA by foreign-owned firms (sold domestically) Trade: FVA in domestic final demand

Source: OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added Data, OECD AMNE and OECD TEC statistics

Trade and investment by partner country

Trade measured from a value added perspective better reflects the bilateral relationships

Figure 12. Exports: gross and value added terms, Figure 13. Imports: gross and value added terms, by partner country, 2014 by partner country, 2014 20 25

16 20 14 12 15 10 8 10 6

4 5

Partner share in total % total in share Partner Partner share in total % total in share Partner 2 0 0 USA DEU FRA CHN ITA JPN GBR ESP RUS CAN DEU USA ITA FRA GBR CHN ESP NLD AUT RUS Domestic value added exports Gross exports Foreign value added Gross Imports

Source: OECD-WTO TiVA data Source: OECD-WTO TiVA data Figure 14, supplying the domestic market through trade and investment, cannot be produced for Switzerland due to data availability.

6 Trade and investment by industry

The top manufacturing exporting industries in Switzerland are chemicals and chemical products (CHM), computers and electronics (CEQ) and machinery and equipment (MEQ). The import content of exports is relatively high across industriesillustrating the role that importing plays in supporting exports and indicating the degree of GVC integration in these industries.

Figure 15. Top exporting manufacturing industries in Switzerland, 2014

45% 50% 40% 35% 40% 30% 30% 25% 20% 20% 15% 10% 10% 5% Share in manufcaturing total manufcaturing in Share 0% 0% CHM CEQ MEQ ELQ FOD OTM FBM RBP MET TRQ Exports Imports Import content of exports (RHS)

Source: OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added Data and OECD AMNE statistics. See page 10 for a description of industry codes.

Exports and imports go hand in hand… Figure 16. Import content of exports and export Across most industries there is a strong positive orientation, 2014 100 CHM MET correlation between higher import content of exports OTM 90 TEXMTR and a higher share of their domestic value-added being ELQ 80 CEQ RBP MEQ exported (export orientation) illustrating the strong 70 FBM TRN TRQ complementarity of exports and imports. Figure 17, 60 PAP foreign investment and export orientation, and figure 50 NMM WOD 18, goods trade by ownership and industry, cannot be 40 OTS FOD

produced for Switzerland due to data limitations. 30 Export Orientation Orientation Export 20 Service industries play an important role in the 10 export orientation of an economy… 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 Typically, services account for a large share of the Import Content of exports value added in the economy but conventional gross Source: OECD-WTO TiVA data and OECD AMNE statistics trade statistics understate this as they cannot reveal the contribution that the upstream services industry plays in the production of goods exports. Accounting for this contribution, the services content of Switzerland’s total exports of goods and services was 63% in 2014 (Figure 19), at the higher end of OECD countries. Considering the services content of manufactured goods alone, 43% of manufacturing exports reflects services value added, significantly above the OECD average of 36%.

7 Figure 19. Services content of gross exports for OECD countries, 2014 100

ISL

IRL

ISR

ITA

FIN

EST

BEL

ESP

CZE

JPN

NZL

CHL

PRT

SVK

LVA

LUX

FRA

POL

CHE

TUR

SVN

AUS USA GRC

AUT

GBR

DEU

KOR

CAN

DNK

SWE

NOR

MEX HUN Foreign Services VA content in Exports Total Domestic Services VA in Exports

Source: OECD-WTO TiVA data,

…and so inward FDI in the services sector can be an important channel for export Figure 20. Share of services industries in foreign-owned success firms’ value added and domestic services value added share of gross exports, OECD countries, 2014 60% GBRGRC Greater foreign investment in the services FRA BEL ESPDNK LVA sector is associated with higher services 50% ESTITA SWEAUT PRT NLD CHE content in exports. For Switzerland, the POLDEU FIN 40% SVN LUX share of investment in services is at the NOR SVK HUN higher end for OECD economies, which 30% CZE could contribute to its relatively high 20% services content in exports.

share of gross exports gross of share 10% Domestic services value added value services Domestic 0% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Share of services industries of foreign-owned firms value added

Source: OECD-WTO TiVA data and OECD AMNE statistics

8 Links and data sources Guide to the trade and investment statistical notes www.oecd.org/investment/Guide-trade-investment-statistical-country-notes.pdf Activity of Multinational Enterprises - AMNE www.oecd.org/sti/ind/amne.htm OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment - 4th Edition (BMD4) (see Chapter 8 for information on the intersection of AMNE and FDI data) www.oecd.org/investment/fdibenchmarkdefinition.htm Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Statistics www.oecd.org/investment/statistics.htm Trade by Enterprise Characteristics - TEC www.oecd.org/std/its/trade-by-enterprise-characteristics.htm Trade in Value Added - TiVA www.oecd.org/sti/ind/measuringtradeinvalue-addedanoecd-wtojointinitiative.htm

Annex: Further data requirements

To make this note as informative as those of other OECD countries, more detailed data about Swiss trade and investment are needed. Primarily, more complete data on foreign-owned firms or inward AMNE statistics at the aggregate, industry and partner country level. Data on the value added by foreign-owned firms, their labour and personnel costs and gross operating surplus would greatly enhance the extent of the analysis that could be completed (Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17). Secondly, data on trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC) would benefit the analysis. In the case of Switzerland this is particularly important given the scale of domestic industry and outward investment and the location of Swiss enterprises at the start of GVCs, in this vein not only trade by domestic or foreign –owned firms, but information on the domestic enterprises; whether they are domestic MNEs or domestic non-MNEs.

Table of industry codes

Industry Type Ind Code Industry Description

AGR Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing Primary Industries MIN Mining and quarrying FOD Food products, beverages and tobacco TEX Textiles, textile products, leather and footwear WOD Wood and products of wood and cork PAP Pulp, paper, paper products, printing and publishing PET Coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel CHM Chemicals and chemical products RBP Rubber and plastics products NMM Other non-metallic mineral products Manufacturing MET Basic metals FBM Fabricated metal products except machinery and equipment MEQ Machinery and equipment n.e.c CEQ Computer, electronic and optical products ELQ Electrical machinery and apparatus n.e.c MTR Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers TRQ Other transport equipment OTM Manufacturing n.e.c; recycling EGW Electricity, gas and water supply CON Construction WRT Wholesale and retail trade; repairs HTR Hotels and restaurants TRN Transport and storage PTL Post and telecommunications FIN Finance and insurance REA Real estate activities Services RMQ Renting of machinery and equipment ITS Computer and related activities BZS Research and development & Other Business Activities GOV Public admin. and defence; compulsory social security EDU Education HTH Health and social work OTS Other community, social and personal services PVH Private households with employed persons

© OECD 2017. This note is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and the arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Please cite this note as: OECD (2017), Switzerland: Trade and Investment Statistical Note.