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### Viewing cable 09BERN350, SWISS REACTION TO UBS AGREEMENT \

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09BERN350 | 2009-08-20 15:03 | 2011-03-14 06:06 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Bern
Appears in these articles: http://www.letemps.ch/swiss_papers

`

    VZCZCXYZ0000
    RR RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHSW #0350/01 2321510
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 201510Z AUG 09
    FM AMEMBASSY BERN
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6015
    INFO RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

` `

    2009-08-20 15:10:00	09BERN350	Embassy Bern	CONFIDENTIAL	09BERN68	VZCZCXYZ0000\
    RR RUEHWEB\
    \
    DE RUEHSW #0350/01 2321510\
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH\
    R 201510Z AUG 09\
    FM AMEMBASSY BERN\
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6015\
    INFO RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC\
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC\
    	C O N F I D E N T I A L BERN 000350 \
     \
    SIPDIS \
     \
    DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR B.SWARTZ, \
    L/EB FOR K.KIZER AND W.TEEL \
     \
    E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2019 \
    TAGS: ECON EFIN PREL SZ
    SUBJECT: SWISS REACTION TO UBS AGREEMENT \
     \
    REF: BERN 68 \
     \
    Classified By: DCM L.Carter for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). \
     \
    ¶1.  (C) Summary.  President and Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf \
    Merz, Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, and Foreign \
    Affairs Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in an August 19 press \
    conference praised the UBS agreement as the only possible \
    solution and a "Peace Treaty."  The Ministers were quick to \
    limit the reach of the agreement to UBS only, although the \
    Justice Minister recognized the agreement could open the door \
    for similar requests from other Swiss banks if those banks \
    committed similar egregious acts like UBS.  Media \
    commentators and political pundits covered a range of \
    opinions from declaring the agreement a true victory for the \
    U.S. to an absolute win for Switzerland.  Unlike the media, \
    local business leaders and the Swiss Bankers Association \
    universally expressed relief that the UBS case was resolved. \
    The UBS case had been a dark cloud over bilateral relations, \
    with concerns it could escalate to a seriously damaging event \
    similar to the Holocaust asset case a decade ago.  Current \
    Swiss opinion indicates, however, that the agreement will \
    mollify all but the most anti-American voices and leave our \
    bilateral relations relatively unscathed. End Summary. \
     \
    ------------------------------------- \
    FEDERAL COUNCILLORS PRAISE RESOLUTION, GOOD BILATERAL \
    RELATIONS \
    ------------------------------------- \
     \
    ¶2. (U) President and Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz, \
    Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, and Foreign Affairs \
    Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey discussed the resolution of the \
    UBS case in a press conference on August 19.  Widmer-Schlumpf \
    touted the bilateral agreement as the only possible solution. \
     She commented that it was necessary to preserve the Swiss \
    legal system against the unilateral enforcement of US \
    regulations, which could include freezing UBS' US-based \
    assets.  Calmy-Rey called the agreement a "Peace Treaty" and \
    praised the good Swiss connections with the US for making the \
    agreement possible.  While President Merz emphasized that the \
    agreement only applied to the specific case of UBS, Widmer- \
    Schlumpf countered that the tax treaty language "tax fraud \
    and the like" coupled with the recently adopted OECD \
    standards for administrative assistance could open the door \
    for similar requests for information from other Swiss banks \
    if those banks had committed similar egregious acts like UBS. \
     President Merz, who previously expressed regret at UBS' \
    unacceptable actions (reftel), appealed to Swiss banks to \
    respect U.S. laws and the Qualified Intermediary regulations. \
     \
    -------------------------------- \
    NO CLEAR TREND IN MEDIA OPINIONS \
    -------------------------------- \
     \
    ¶3. (U) Media commentators and political pundits covered a \
    range of opinions from declaring the agreement a true victory \
    for the U.S. to an absolute win for Switzerland.  Neither the \
    political persuasion of the papers nor the region of the \
    country defined a clear Swiss opinion about the effects of \
    the agreement.  Newspaper articles ranged from claiming the \
    broader interpretation of "tax fraud and the like" in the tax \
    agreement was the "last nail in the coffin of banking \
    secrecy" to citing legal experts that announced Switzerland \
    had been the clear winner because Switzerland's legal \
    procedures had not been compromised.  Another paper took a \
    completely different approach arguing that even though the \
    agreement was the only tenable solution, it placed undue \
    pressure on Switzerland's governmental system of separation \
    of powers between the Federal Council and the Tax \
    Administration Court. \
     \
    ------------------------------ \
    BUSINESS RELIEVED BY AGREEMENT \
    ------------------------------ \
     \
    ¶4. (C) Unlike the media, business leaders universally \
    expressed relief that the UBS case was resolved.  Swiss \
    American Chamber of Commerce CEO Martin Naville told econoff \
    that the agreement was a positive outcome for two reasons: 1) \
    the agreement was signed under a partnership spirit without \
    the adversarial tone expressed in previous months; and 2) the \
    exchange of information will be in accordance with the double \
    taxation treaty.  He highlighted that political will to \
    ratify the recently revised treaty would not exist if the IRS \
    did not conform to the requirements of the original treaty. \
    Naville expected there to be some domestic policy noise about \
    Switzerland relinquishing its sovereignty and its tradition \
    of bank secrecy, but these opinions would not cloud the \
    positive impact of the resolution. \
     \
    ¶5. (C) Thomas Pletscher, Executive Board Member of \
    EconomieSuisse, Switzerland's largest umbrella organization \
    for Swiss business and industry, echoed Naville's sentiments \
    calling the agreement a "relief."  Pletscher stated that the \
    overall industry response had been positive.  He told econoff \
    that a long drawn out court case posed "a danger of \
    overshadowing" and "seriously damaging" otherwise good \
    bilateral relations.  In addition, the agreement established \
    a procedure to avoid a clash of the two countries' legal \
    frameworks.  Pletscher was not concerned about the agreement \
    breaching Switzerland's banking secrecy.  He stated that the \
    agreement marked the "end of Hollywood's version of banking \
    secrecy" which was always an inaccurate portrayal.  Banking \
    secrecy was designed to protect individual privacy, not to \
    hide criminal conduct. \
     \
    ¶6.  (C) The Swiss Bankers Association's Head of U.S. Affairs \
    Heinreich Siegmann reiterated the relief that the complicated \
    matter had been resolved amicably and within the Swiss legal \
    framework.  Siegmann informed econoff that maintaining the \
    stability of Swiss law was crucial to the continuing success \
    of the Swiss financial center. \
     \
    ------- \
    COMMENT \
    ------- \
     \
    ¶7.  (C)  Post expects that the UBS case will provide the \
    Swiss media fodder for claiming the U.S. bullied Switzerland \
    into an agreement that marks the demise of banking secrecy, a \
    national heritage.  However, Swiss government and business \
    leaders generally view the agreement as a mutual compromise \
    that protects Swiss sovereignty while enabling the U.S. to \
    enforce its tax laws.  The UBS case was a dark cloud over \
    bilateral relations, with concerns it could escalate to a \
    seriously damaging event similar to the Holocaust asset case \
    a decade ago.  Current Swiss opinion indicates, however, that \
    the agreement will mollify all but the most anti-American \
    voices and leave our bilateral relations relatively unscathed. \
    BEYER \

`