Event

As DuPont CEO Charles Holliday (left) outlines his perspective during the Joint Economic Commission, USTR Susan Schwab, moderator Christopf Keese, Economics Minister Doris Leuthard, and ABB CEO Fred Kindle (left to right) listen closely.  click to enlarge (© M. Crugnola, U.S. Embassy Bern)

14 January 2008 -- USTR Susan Schwab discusses U.S.-Swiss bilateral trade relations with Swiss Economics Minister Doris Leuthard at the WEF

U.S. and Swiss representatives attended the annual Joint Economic Commission, organized by U.S. Embassy Bern, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.  USTR Schwab and Economics Minister Leuthard participated on behalf of the U.S. and Swiss governments, respectively, with the private sector represented by DuPont CEO Charles Holliday and ABB CEO Fred Kindle.

The panel, facilitated by the editor-in-chief of the German newspaper Welt, Christoph Keese, discussed the need to conclude the Doha Round.  Schwab and Leuthard agreed that a global trade agreement would be more beneficial than what Leuthard reiterated as "a spaghetti bowl of individual free trade agreements."  The two protagonists from the private sector, Holliday and Kindle, emphasized the importance of the free flow of goods, which sometimes conflicts with security issues.  On the whole, the panelists voiced their satisfaction with the status quo of the U.S.-Swiss bilateral relations both on an economic and political level.