As prepared for delivery
Good afternoon. And greetings from the United States.
It’s an honor to join you today. Over the last eight decades, the American Swiss Foundation has played a central role in deepening the historic bond between the United States and Switzerland. Its leadership includes a long lineage of great Americans—from the late-Ambassador Shelby Cullom Davis to the late-Ambassador Faith Whittlesey, who helped transform this organization into what it is today. The success of the American Swiss Foundation is a tribute to her enduring legacy.
Bob Giuffra honors the Ambassador’s legacy through his leadership as the Chairman of this organization, as does Markus Diethelm as Co-Chair. Thank you, Bob and Markus, for the great work you both are doing to strengthen Swiss-American ties. I’d also like to thank the Vice Chair of the Board, Ambassador Ed McMullen, for inviting me to join you today.
Ed is a good friend. He is also a fellow South Carolinian with longstanding ties to Switzerland going back to his own time as a Young Leader. As Ambassador under the last Trump Administration, he helped fortify the U.S.-Swiss relationship. I am grateful for Ed’s continued service and patriotism.
I had the privilege of being in your beautiful country just last month. At a meeting place located just off the shores of Lake Geneva, I worked with the American delegation under President Trump’s leadership to initiate trade negotiations between the United States and China.
There, the Swiss delegation received us most warmly. Many thanks to President Karin Keller-Sutter and Vice President Guy Parmelin for being such gracious hosts. My conversations with them affirmed my belief in Switzerland’s important role on the world stage.
America’s Golden Age
I know President Trump shares that belief as well.
In Switzerland, he sees a fellow traveler—a country that boldly asserts its sovereignty but never shrinks away from diplomacy and global trade. He holds your nation in high regard. That’s why he was the first U.S. President to host a Swiss President at the White House in 2019. This was a watershed moment in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Switzerland. And we look forward to building on that relationship in the President’s second term.
In January of this year, we inaugurated not only a new president but a new era of American optimism. “The Golden Age” President Trump so often refers to represents a rebirth of national confidence. And it comes at a pivotal time for our country—on the eve of its 250th anniversary.
Leveraging tech, state-of-the-art manufacturing, and energy dominance, we are going to build the strongest, most innovative, and most prosperous economy the world has ever known. Under President Trump, the United States is entering a new age of abundance. And we want Switzerland to go there with us. Our shared history shows the way to a better future—not only for the United States and Switzerland but for the entire world.
The Duty of Our “Sister Republics”
The United States and Switzerland are an ocean apart. But in a philosophical sense, they occupy the same territory.
We share the same commitment to democracy, federalism, property rights, and the rule of law.
We share a preference for free enterprise.
And we share a deep connection to Europe—but also a willingness to go our own way.
Switzerland is separated from the rest of the continent by mountains and neutrality treaties. The United States, by water and 250 years of independent history.
While we are both grateful for our economic and cultural ties to Europe, we also recognize that our autonomy is what has allowed us to thrive. So we are content to remain both a part of and apart from European affairs when our sovereignty requires it. If anything, this is the key to our success.
Historian James Hutson put it best when he described the United States and Switzerland as “sister republics.”
As sister republics, we have a duty to the world. That duty is to demonstrate the surest path to human flourishing: combining free markets with bottom-up, grassroots governance.
As sister republics, we also have a duty to each other. That duty is to strengthen and support one another in banking, diplomacy, and trade.
To that end, we will continue working with our Swiss counterparts to streamline global financial regulations, modernize capital requirements, and continue to engage with one another on key macroeconomic issues.
Gallatin's Legacy and the Future of the Bilateral Relationship
Now for a parting thought.
The United States Treasury Department owes a debt of gratitude to the people and history of Switzerland. Those who have visited our historic building in Washington, DC, know that it’s not just the Secret Service that stands watch. Outside the Main Treasury entrance is a towering 15-foot brass statue of Albert Gallatin. Gallatin was the longest-serving Treasury Secretary of the United States. But he is also known as “the Swiss Founding Father.”
Gallatin was of French Huguenot descent, as am I. Gallatin found refuge from persecution in Geneva, which stood then and today remains a beacon of liberty, enlightenment, and intellectual exchange. Gallatin’s political beliefs took root in the same intellectual soil that nurtured thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rosseau.
Gallatin brought his Swiss-inspired Enlightenment ideals with him when he emigrated to the United States at age 19. Here, he quickly climbed the ranks of American politics. Over the course of his prolific 13-year tenure as Treasury Secretary, he would cut the national debt in half, finance Western expansion, and guide our country through its perilous infancy.
Gallatin embodied the highest virtues of American and Swiss society. And he showed us what you can accomplish when you combine the best of both nations in working toward a greater cause. In short, his life captures the promise of the American Swiss Foundation.
Our two countries are among the most dynamic in the world. And our combined dynamism is an unstoppable force for good on the global stage. The United States and Switzerland play a critical role in preserving the light of liberty on both sides of the Atlantic. So let’s continue working together to ensure that light shines to all nations.
Thank you.
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