On January 13, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett and Director of the National Economic Council Jeffrey Zients hosted a delegation of Swiss business leaders in Washington, D.C. The delegation, led by Vice President of the Swiss Confederation, Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann and U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein Suzan LeVine, included chief executive officers and senior executives from Alevo Group, Bühler, Kudelski Group, Nestlé, Novartis, Pilatus Aircraft, Reha Technology, and Zurich Insurance Group.
The discussion, held ahead of the SelectUSA Investment Summit, focused on effective apprenticeship models, and innovative research and development (R&D).
The eight executives announced plans to invest approximately $3 billion in their U.S. operations starting in 2015, reflecting strong and persistent growth of Swiss investment in the U.S. economy.
Nestlé, Bühler, Pilatus, Zurich Insurance Group and Kudelski Group all made commitments to implement or expand core components of their successful Swiss apprenticeship programs into their U.S. facilities.
Swiss foreign direct investment (FDI) into the United States grew by 115 percent from 2009-2013, from $65 to $140 billion. Switzerland is the 6th largest source of FDI in United States, and U.S. subsidiaries of Swiss firms employed more than 472,200 U.S. workers in 2012. Swiss investors are the top international source of research and development (R&D) investment in the United States, spending nearly $9.4 billion in 2012.
