Talacker 41, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland, Phone: +41 43 443 72 00, Fax: +41 43 497 22 70, [email protected], www.amcham.ch, December 2019 / No. 396 2020 will be an interesting year - let’s doubly enjoy the The latest events (more pictures on pages 4/5) Holiday Season! Dear members and friends Going into the Holiday Season, it is time to look forward to what next year will bring. First the good news: Business between Switzerland and the USA does very well, despite the negative and pessimistic press coverage. In the first nine months of 2019, Swiss exports to the USA grew 11%, and imports from the USA also grew nearly 7%. And we hear good stories about foreign direct investments in both directions. In Bracken Darrell (Logitech), U.S. Ambassador Edward T. McMullen, Jr., Silvio Napoli (Schindler / June and September 2019, we had historic Swiss Amcham), Ulrich Brechbühl (Counselor of the U.S. Dept. of State), André Kudelski (Kudelski months with exports to the USA the #1 des- / Swiss Amcham), Martin Naville (Swiss Amcham) tination, surpassing exports to Germany! Cautious forecast sees exports to the USA grow a little slower than the average growth of 12.3% per annum in the last 10 years. And still, developments are expected to continue on a positive path. But otherwise, 2020 will be an interesting year – as in the Chinese curse “may you live in interesting times”. Globally, we see many ongoing and potential trade distur- bances between the US and China, Brexit and the relationship between UK and EU, the open issues between the USA and the Zurich, November 7: Fireside Chat. Silvio Lugano, October 23: Christian Vitta (Presidente del EU, difficult questions within the EU and a Napoli (Chairman, Schindler Holding Consiglio di Stato e Direttore del Dipartimento delle US election campaign which will certainly / Chairman, Swiss Amcham), Vasant finanze e dell’economia), U.S. Ambassador Edward T. not add to stability. Narasimhan (CEO, Novartis) [MS] McMullen, Jr., Franco Polloni (Sen. EVP, EFG Bank / Chairman, Ticino Chapter Board) In Switzerland, we will be confronted with many hurdles like the cohesion payments to the EU, the Swiss participation in the EU Ulrich T. Brechbühl Guest of Honor of Swiss Amcham’s Board of R&D program Horizon Europe, the poten- Director tially threatened EU data equivalency for At its meeting of November 21, Swiss Amcham’s Board of Director was honored by the Switzerland, the necessary renegotiations visit of Ulrich T. Brechbühl, Counselor to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (see of the Multilateral Recognition Agreements picture above). Ueli Brechbühl was born in Switzerland and moved to the USA at age 2 and the next phase of the never-ending when his father, a UBS banker, accepted a position in New York. Growing up in Garden saga of the Framework Agreement. And City, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, spent some we hope that discussions towards a Swiss- 7 years serving in the US Army before attending Harvard Business School. In West USA Free Trade Agreement will begin in Point’s Yearbook, it says “a staunch Republican who could one day be President of the earnest. Domestically, we will face difficult, USA if it were not for his anathema toward politicians and the fact that he was born in business-unfriendly public ballots: The Corporate Responsibility Initiative and the Switzerland.”[ After a long career as an entrepreneur, Mr. Brechbühl accepted the role Limitation Initiative (leading to a cancel- of Counselor when his West Point friend Mike Pompeo called. Still a perfect speaker lation of the Free Movement of People of Bernese dialect, Mr. Brechbühl is clearly the most senior Swiss-born personality in Agreement; in short “SwissExit”). the current administration. Under strict Chatham House rules, Mr. Brechbühl gave the Board members a candid 2020 will be a busy year! Let’s enjoy the in-depth look of the current US foreign affairs policy and debunked several falsely held Holiday Season to rest, enjoy our loved believes. This was a great opportunity to get a better understanding of the current state ones and get ready for this interesting of the world. Thank you, Ueli, for this great honor! New Year. With the Swiss Amcham Team, I wish you the very best. Looking forward to seeing you next year. Content Business News from the United States ...2 The Chamber & You...........................6/7 Martin Naville Business News from Switzerland ............3 Masthead ..............................................7 CEO Chamber Events ...................................4/5 Chamber Events Plan ..........................8 Business News from the United States U.S. productivity drops by most November from a recent high. The national week ended November 2, according to the since fourth quarter of 2015 association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Labor Department. The level of claims American workers were unexpectedly less Housing Market Index (HMI) fell 1 point to suggests solid labor market conditions. productive during the third quarter, with 70, after rising steadily since June to the growth in their output failing to keep up with highest level of the year in October. Anything Risks to U.S. economy the hours worked. The Labor Department above 50 is considered positive. The index are still on the downside said in early November nonfarm productivity, measured 60 a year ago. Of the index’s The U.S. Federal Reserve has interest which measures hourly output per worker, three components, current sales conditions rates at the appropriate level for the U.S. fell at a 0.3% annualized rate between fell 2 points to 76, traffic of prospective economy but risks to the economic outlook July and September, the biggest decline in buyers dropped 1 point to 53, and sales are still tilted downwards, according to almost four years. The last drop that was expectations in the next six months rose 1 New York Federal Reserve President John sharper was in the fourth quarter of 2015. point to 77. Sentiment, as well as housing Williams. The Federal Reserve voted The decline might set back the prospects of starts, are stronger this year thanks in part 8-2 to cut interest rates by a quarter per- a pick-up expected by some economists in to much lower mortgage interest rates. centage point at its October meeting to a the trend growth rate for productivity follow- target range of between 1.50% and 1.75%. ing 2017 tax law changes partially aimed at U.S. Justice Department sets up It was the third interest rate cut this year, fostering investment. anti-price collusion strike force but the Fed made plain at the time that it In early November, the Justice Department would lower rates again only if there is a Wall Street increasingly weighs said it had created a strike force that will material deterioration in the U.S. economic risk from climate change identify and prosecute companies that fix outlook. Early in November, Williams said In the wake of two years of devastating prices or collude to push up the cost of that the U.S. economy is in a good place and wildfires in California, Wall Street is incor- billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. government reiterated that the central bank’s reduction porating a new risk metric when evaluating purchases. The announcement follows the in borrowing costs this year should mitigate companies: climate resiliency. Investors, discovery that five South Korean companies the potential risks of the ongoing U.S.-China analysts, research firms and companies had colluded in delivering oil to U.S. military trade war and slowing global growth. are putting more emphasis on how climate bases. The Procurement Collusion Strike issues ranging from rising sea levels to Force will be made up of the department’s U.S. SEC proposes rules record heatwaves will affect profits and Antitrust Division, 13 U.S. attorneys’ offices, that could limit shareholder voices revenues in the United States and what the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Wall Street’s top regulator proposed in early companies are doing to address those risks. the offices of inspectors general from the November a pair of long-awaited rules that As a result, fund managers, who typically Defense Department, Justice Department, would set new limits on shareholders’ abili- do not incorporate environmental attributes General Services Administration and U.S. ty to call for corporate changes on thorny in their analysis of a company, are taking a Postal Service. Its creation is a follow-up issues like climate change disclosures closer look at whether the physical locations to the Justice Department’s announcement and executive compensation. In one of of their property and equipment will put them last year that it would be more aggressive in the biggest wins for the corporate lobby at a higher risk of being impacted by climate pressing antitrust charges against compa- under President Donald Trump, the U.S. change. So-called ESG funds, which focus nies that rig bids for government contracts. Securities and Exchange Commission on a company’s environmental, social, and voted 3-2 along partisan lines to raise the governance attributes, have been at the U.S. weekly jobless claims resubmission thresholds for motions that forefront of focusing on the physical risks fall more than expected shareholders file on company ballots and of climate change. The number of Americans filing applications to put new requirements on firms guiding for unemployment benefits fell more than investors how to vote in corporate elections. Homebuilder confidence slips slightly expected in early November, consistent Both shareholder proposals and proxy in November, from record high with strong labor market conditions and advisory firms are cornerstones of corpo- The nation’s single-family homebuilders are continued job growth.