Ambassador reassures Swiss that US companies will stay put

American companies had moved to Switzerland not to escape the US tax authorities but because of the overall attractiveness of the country, McMullen said. Keystone

Ed McMullen, the US ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, has said there is “really no reason” for American companies to relocate back to the US after the country’s tax reform.

He knew of several companies that were about to move their business to Switzerland, McMullen told the Nordwestschweiz newspaper on Tuesday.

American companies had moved to Switzerland not to escape the US tax authorities but because of the overall attractiveness of the country, he added. “Switzerland is a strong financial centre with powerful cybersecurity and a hub for research,” he said.

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The recently implemented American tax reform and deregulation measures had increased the interest of small and medium-sized Swiss companies in expanding their business activities to the US. They could also act as incentives for American companies operating in other countries, McMullen said.

However, fears that American companies would move out of Switzerland for tax reasons were unfounded.

New opportunities

US companies would continue to benefit from Switzerland as a business location, and “some of the largest companies in the US” were planning new business opportunities in Switzerland, according to McMullen. The Republican diplomat from New York did not give any examples but said people would soon hear about them.

McMullen, a political scientist and former advertising entrepreneur, took up the post of US ambassador to Switzerland last November. The 54-year-old was a chairman of Donald Trump’s election campaign in the state of South Carolina.