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Viewing cable 08BERN552, DAS GARBER'S MEETINGS WITH SWISS AND LIECHTENSTEIN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08BERN552 2008-10-29 09:34 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Bern
VZCZCXYZ0008
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSW #0552/01 3030934
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290934Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5407
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS BERN 000552 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR (J.GARBER), EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE), EUR/ERA, 
AND EB; PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR J.BUNTIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD EFIN SZ
SUBJECT: DAS GARBER'S MEETINGS WITH SWISS AND LIECHTENSTEIN 
OFFICIALS (OCT 20-21) 
 
REF: A. BERN 544 
     B. BERN 546 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  During an October 20 meeting with DAS 
Garber, senior Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) 
contacts outlined their priorities for U.S.-Swiss relations. 
EDA Americas Division Head Yvonne Baumann requested support 
for another round of senior-level U.S.-Swiss bilateral 
meetings under the rubric of our MoU-based "Framework for 
Intensified Cooperation."  Muslim issues, human rights, the 
Balkans, the Middle East, disarmament and nonproliferation, 
UN sanctions implementation, the OSCE, the Caucuses, and 
Russia/Georgia were identified by the Swiss officials as 
potential areas for continued U.S.-Swiss coordination.  Swiss 
officials at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs 
(SECO) informed DAS Garber that they were happy with the 
progress under the Trade and Investment Cooperation 
Agreement, including the recent signing of the E-Commerce 
Declaration and the soon-to-be finalized Safe Harbor 
Agreement.  Swiss Department of Finance officials commented 
that, while the GOS lowered their initial 2008 growth 
forecast of 1.7 percent to less than 1 percent due to the 
underestimated impact of the financial crisis on the EU, the 
GOS is not pessimistic overall.  Liechtenstein's Ambassador 
to Switzerland told DAS Garber October 21 that Liechtenstein 
is at an advantage with regard to the financial crisis 
because the country is not an investment banking center so 
was not impacted by the first wave of write-downs.  With 
respect to ongoing discussions with Liechtenstein regarding 
banking secrecy, DAS Garber emphasized that worldwide trends 
toward greater connectivity and the increasing use of 
financial networks by inappropriate individuals and 
organizations require that all countries work together to 
stop nefarious activity.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------- 
SWISS EDA EMPHASIZES DIALOGUE 
----------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) During an informal October 20 lunch meeting hosted 
by Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) Americas Division Head 
Yvonne Baumann for EUR DAS Judith Garber, senior Swiss EDA 
contacts outlined their priorities for U.S.-Swiss relations. 
Ambassador Baumann reviewed the history of bilateral meetings 
held under the rubric of our MoU-based "Framework for 
Intensified Cooperation."  Emphasizing that there is an 
"abundance of issues of common interest," she requested DAS 
Garber's support for a next senior-level Framework meeting in 
Bern.  Baumann added that the EDA would like to organize an 
experts-level Framework meeting ("Joint Working Group") in 
Switzerland soon.  She remarked that "the U.S. delegations 
need not be large," but continuing such meetings would allow 
us to "meet the commitment we made when we started this 
initiative."  DAS Garber responded that in light of the 
transition, it is not possible to schedule senior USG 
officials now, but it should still be possible to explore 
options for a next JWG meeting. 
 
3. (SBU) EDA Human Security Division Head Thomas Greminger 
identified Muslim Issues, Human Rights dialogue exchanges 
(e.g., China), the Balkans (particularly Kosovo), and the 
Middle East as areas for continued U.S.-Swiss coordination. 
EDA Director for Security Affairs Jacques Pitteloud said that 
CT and intel cooperation are ongoing and will remain so in 
their respective channels.  At the political level, he 
flagged increasing GOS concern about the NPT, with a view to 
the 2010 Review Conference (RevCon).  Ambassador Pitteloud 
projected that Switzerland increasingly will emphasize 
nuclear disarmament issues in the run-up to the RevCon, 
fearing that without more progress on disarmament, it will be 
increasingly difficult to achieve nonproliferation goals. 
 
4. (SBU) Ambassador Christine Schraner-Burgener, EDA 
Coordinator for Counterterrorism, emphasized Switzerland's 
support for a proposal it has made along with several other 
countries to develop a review panel that would provide 
expert, non-binding advice to the UNSCR 1267 Sanctions 
Committee regarding whether certain individuals should be 
removed from the sanctions list.  Schraner-Burgener regretted 
that the proposal has not received more support in the UNSC, 
noting that the GOS would appreciate USG support.  She 
expressed concern that European court decisions might create 
dilemmas for countries seeking to enforce the sanctions while 
meeting their human rights obligations. 
 
5. (SBU) EDA European Affairs Division Chief Christian Meuwly 
observed that the GOS had firmly supported Kosovo 
independence and would remain engaged there.  He said that he 
 
would welcome more dialogue with the USG regarding the 
Caucuses and mentioned that he would be very interested in 
meeting with DAS Bryza soon.  Meuwly referred to the OSCE's 
current difficulties and suggested that thought perhaps 
should be given to holding a summit in 2010 to seek to 
reaffirm the values and principles of the organization. 
Meuwly noted that Switzerland is setting up an Interest 
Section for Russia in Georgia.  He said that the GOS is not 
doing this for self-promotion, but "because Switzerland is 
still a 'brand name' for this kind of work," and because it 
provides an opportunity for Georgia to have an Interest 
Section (managed by Sweden) in Moscow, to assist the 
approximately 750,000 Georgians living in Russia. 
 
--------------------------- 
BILATERAL TRADE TIES STRONG 
--------------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) The Swiss Department of Economic Affairs (SECO) 
Deputy Head of Bilateral Economic Affairs Erwin Bollinger, 
Deputy Head of Americas Bilateral Economic Relations Guido 
Barsuglio, and Deputy Head of Taskforce Sanctions Thomas Graf 
informed DAS Garber October 20 that they were happy with the 
progress under the Trade and Investment Cooperation 
Agreement, including the recent signing of the E-Commerce 
Declaration by USTR Schwab and Economic Affairs Minister 
Doris Leuthard and the soon-to-be finalized Safe Harbor 
Agreement.  SECO hopes the Safe Harbor Agreement will be 
concluded by the end of November.  Other than referencing 
on-going dialogue with U.S. Department of Agriculture to gain 
import access to the U.S. beef market, SECO described 
bilateral economic relations as "perfect." 
 
--------------------------------------- 
SWISS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FINANCIAL CRISIS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) Department of Finance Deputy Head of International 
Finance and Monetary Policy Division Urs Plavec and Senior 
Economist and Deputy Head of Economic and Monetary Policy 
Barbara Schlaffer met with DAS Garber October 20 to discuss 
the current financial crisis.  Plavec stated that while the 
GOS lowered their initial 2008 growth forecast of 1.7 percent 
to less than 1 percent due to the underestimated impact of 
the financial crisis on the EU, the GOS is not pessimistic 
overall.  He commented that he "does not expect a severe 
recession."  Plavec expects growth to be back to normal by 
2009 (normal being 1.5-2.5 percent.) 
 
8. (SBU) In defense of this rather optimistic position, 
Plavec pointed out that while they are pessimistic about EU 
exports in general, many of Switzerland's exports are 
"inelastic to the business cycle, such as pharmaceuticals," 
and will not be affected.  In addition, he noted that 
Switzerland did not have a housing sector bubble or a credit 
crunch.  Swiss banks are well-capitalized so the global 
credit freeze left domestic credit and housing lines 
unaltered.  In pointing to somewhat out-dated August figures, 
Schlaffer mirrored Plavec's optimism by stating that 
consumption was up, the labor market was strong, and that the 
large contraction of industry purchasing power would not 
greatly affect Switzerland because the service sector 
strongly out-distances industry as the largest contributor. 
In addressing the need for Switzerland's first rescue package 
for its largest bank, UBS, Plavec cited bolstering confidence 
as the impetus for the assistance (reftels).  Plavec conceded 
that all of this optimism is dependent on the expected 
success of the EU and US global rescue plans. 
 
9. (SBU) Plavec suggested that global meetings to respond to 
the crisis should include the BRIC countries and the BrettQWoods insitQs.  Measures to be addressed, according to 
Plavec, include CEO salaries and the need to minimize 
overreactions; "Allow markets to play, but don't allow market 
failures." 
 
--------------------------------------- 
LIECHTENSTEIN WATCHING FINANCIAL CRISIS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
10. (SBU) According to Liechtenstein Ambassador to 
Switzerland Hubert Buchel, the financial crisis has not yet 
affected Liechtenstein.  In an October 21 meeting with DAS 
Garber, he commented that Liechtenstein is at an advantage 
because it is not an investment banking center so was not 
impacted by the first wave of write-downs.  The banks also 
have a large capital basis to fall back on.  He did note that 
the global solution to the crisis is still crucial because 
 
these banks are affected by the declining stock markets. 
Buchel remarked that Liechtenstein has no power to influence 
the global situation so the country's banks are just 
following the market and will rely on the Swiss National Bank 
(SNB) as lender of last resort, if necessary.  (Note: 
Liechtenstein does not have a central bank.  The country's 
banks report to and are assisted by the SNB in accordance 
with a bilateral currency treaty.  End Note) 
 
11. (SBU) With respect to ongoing discussions with 
Liechtenstein regarding banking secrecy, DAS Garber 
emphasized to Buchel that worldwide trends toward greater 
connectivity and the increasing use of financial networks by 
inappropriate individuals and organizations require that all 
countries work together to stop nefarious activity.  Buchel 
acknowledged that in criminal cases, accounts must be open. 
He commented that the original view in Liechtenstein was that 
tax issues revolved around varying definitions of tax fraud 
and tax evasion, and that tax issues were not banking issues, 
but relegated to client responsibility.  He confirmed that 
this view has changed to one that recognizes the importance 
of international exchange at the EU and bilateral level. 
CONEWAY