Export promotion and investment protection

The federal government supports Swiss companies at home and abroad by promoting exports and protecting investment. The Federal Department for Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs(seco), in conjunction with Swiss embassies and consulates, provide a broad range of services. In recent years this has focused increasingly on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Switzerland’s 150 or so embassies and consulates offer Swiss and Liechtenstein-based companies:

• standardized information and advice
• an organization service for participation in trade fairs
• assistance with establishing contacts and arranging access to official bodies abroad.

In particularly important, traditional and emerging markets, the federal government and OSEC Business Network Switzerland jointly operate Swiss Business Hubs. These offer a wide range of services to help Swiss companies boost exports. These hubs exist in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, the United Kingdom, Spain, the US, Japan, Poland, China, Russia, India, Brazil, the Gulf states and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The services offered by these Swiss Business Hubs include:

• information
• advice
• arranging introductions to business partners
• marketing
• mediation with authorities

Most Swiss Business Hubs are attached to the official representation network of the FDFA, but two of them (Austria and Italy) are managed by bilateral chambers of commerce.

The supreme objective of export promotion is to overcome existing inhibition thresholds. It also facilitates access to all foreign markets by arranging contacts and providing expert advice for Swiss companies that are capable of becoming exporters and interested in doing so, especially SMEs.

Swiss SMEs are currently carrying out more and more investment abroad. Comprehensive investment protection is extremely important to the Swiss economy.

Switzerland has now concluded over 100 Investment Protection Agreements with countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. These govern:

• the treatment of foreign investment by the host state^
• the transfer of investment earnings and other payments
• compensation in the event of expropriation
• the resolution of disputes.

Switzerland’s objectives in concluding these agreements are to improve the legal position of investors and create a climate favourable to capital investment. They make it possible to rectify shortcomings outside the area of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Swiss embassies are closely involved in negotiating these agreements.