Swiss CEO discusses attending Oval Office meeting

Alfred Gantner (second from right) in the Oval Office on November 4. Keystone

The meeting between six Swiss business representatives and US President Donald Trump at the beginning of November caused a stir in Switzerland and internationally. Alfred Gantner, co-founder of Partners Group, was one of the six and reveals the details for the first time.

The meeting has been widely taken to be a turning point in the customs negotiations. But how the meeting came about and what was discussed has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks. Gantner spoke to Swiss public broadcaster SRF on Friday.

SRF News: How did this meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office come about?

Alfred Gantner: The idea came about under the leadership of Mrs Budliger [Helene Budliger Artieda, director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO] and Economics Minister Guy Parmelin to bring together people who already know Donald Trump and who will invest a large part of the CHF200 billion. Everything was agreed one-to-one. The business representatives didn’t conduct any negotiations. We represented these investments that the Swiss economy will make in the US. And we were able to make it credible that we will sustainably reduce the trade deficit, which is such a thorn in President Trump’s side, over the next three to five years.

SECO position

“The idea for a meeting of businessmen in the White House arose in various discussions. However, it was then realised by the businessmen in a private initiative. At their request, the businessmen received a general briefing from SECO on the status of the official talks before the meeting – without disclosing any details. The businessmen’s initiative has helped to make progress in this matter. At the aforementioned meeting in the Oval Office, there was no negotiation on the draft Joint Statement, of which the business representatives had no detailed knowledge and which the US President apparently only mentioned after 40 minutes. The Joint Statement was negotiated and finalised by the Federal Council and the economics ministry with the relevant US authorities.”

With regard to the gifts, the SECO statement says:

“The meeting and also the gifts were a private initiative by businessmen from the private sector. As this is now apparently the subject of an ongoing investigation, the Federal Administration cannot comment on the matter.”

SRF News: How did the meeting with Donald Trump go?

A.G.: We went to the Oval Office with the task of drawing attention to the work of SECO. At the end of those 40 minutes, Donald Trump turned to Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and asked: “Is the Swiss deal good enough to get EU conditions?” Greer confirmed that it was. Then, thankfully for the Swiss economy, the deal was finalised in the following days.

SRF News: Let’s talk about the gifts you took with you.

A.G.: This has led to a lot of discussion and excitement. I would therefore like to emphasise that it is absolutely customary to bring a gift with you when you go to the Oval Office. This is also quite common among states. The gifts were of course clearly symbolic. It was not about material value. Nor were they gifts for Donald Trump, but for the American public, for the Presidential Library.

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SRF News: What symbolism did the gifts have?

A.G.: The gold bar that was handed over was given with the promise that such gold bars would be produced in the US, specifically in Oklahoma, in 12 to 18 months. It was a symbol that certain important industrial activities would be relocated to the US by Swiss investors. The watch was a symbol that we will reliably approach this investment plan – the reduction of the trade balance, the deficit – like a Swiss watch.

SRF News: How do you rate the customs agreement that Switzerland has reached with the US?

A.G.: I think it was an excellent comeback for Switzerland. We were at over 39% tariffs, we are now at 6% or 7% on a trade-weighted basis. We have the lowest tariffs in the world. Europe is at 10%, the UK is at 7% on a trade-weighted basis. This is a great success for Economics Minister Guy Parmelin and the head of SECO, Helene Budliger.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts