Council of States president Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP, SG) paid an official visit to the USA between 21 and 24 May, which took her to Washington D.C. (21 and 22 May), Chicago (23 May) and New Glarus (24 May). The programme included talks with representatives from the fields of politics, business and culture, and visits to several Swiss businesses.
On 21 and 22 May Karin Keller-Sutter in Washington D.C. met with members of Congress and representatives from a number of leading think tanks. The focus was on Swiss-US trade relations and their prospects for the future, while addressing core principles of US financial market regulation and US tax reform measures and their impact on Switzerland as a location for international firms.
On 23 May Council of States president Karin Keller-Sutter met the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois and the Mayor of Chicago in the ‘windy city’ and held talks with representatives from Swiss firms in the services, manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Visits to the US headquarters of Zurich Insurance Group, the Swiss financial services company, Phonak and Emmi Roth, the US production facility of Emmi Holding AG also took place.
On 24 May, the last day of the official visit, Ms Karin Keller-Sutter travelled to New Glarus, Wisconsin, where she met members of the Swiss community abroad to find out how they uphold their national and regional cultural identity. The village was founded in 1845 by 150 immigrants from its Swiss namesake. Many Swiss emigrants left for the USA in the nineteenth century.
Ms Keller-Sutter was accompanied on her visit by the second vice president of the Council of States, Géraldine Savary (SP, VD), Council of States members Thomas Hefti (FDP, GL), Robert Cramer (GPS, GE) and Anne Seydoux-Christe (CVP, JU), and National Council member Thomas Aeschi (SVP, ZG). The delegation was also joined by the Deputy Secretary General of the Federal Assembly, Martina Buol, and the Head of International Affairs & Multilingualism, Cédric Stucky.