According to this data, about one billion francs flowed to Swiss industry between 2018 and 2021 thanks to such transactions. In the case of arms deals abroad, the manufacturers have to offset all or part of the order volume with orders from Swiss companies.
For example, Switzerland concluded an agreement with the manufacturer Lockheed Martin for the purchase of the new American fighter jet F-35 for 6 billion euros, and at the same time signed a compensation agreement. Accordingly, the company should do business with Swiss industry that offsets the cost of acquisition. 2.9 billion Swiss francs must flow to Swiss companies.
The Audit Committee of the Council of States has criticized the control of settlement transactions in a report. The main purpose of these transactions is to strengthen the competitiveness of Swiss industry. But the controls did not allow any knowledge of whether this goal was actually achieved.
Swiss industry is well positioned
With the IT project “Digitization of compensation reporting” launched in 2021, the Federal Armaments Agency is now creating a web-based platform for reporting, control and statistical recording and evaluation of compensation transactions.
In terms of competitiveness, BAK Economics’ analysis concludes that Swiss industry is well positioned in global technology competition. The analysis, conducted on the basis of patent data, confirms that Swiss industry focuses on cutting-edge research, as the share of top patents in all areas of technology is well above average. (SDA/dba)