The quarterly newsletter of scienceindustries, the Swiss Business Association Chemistry Pharma Life Sciences, keeps you informed about current economic and social issues.
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National Council strengthens bilateral relationship and rejects restriction initiative
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Climate policy after 2020: consultation about CO2 law
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Council of States adjourns debate about Responsible Business Initiative
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Quality of drinking water in Switzerland is high – response to NAQUA Report
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Reference price system disfavours insured persons
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Free trade agreement with Indonesia
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Free trade agreement with Mercosur countries
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Responsible Care Programme – self-assessment tool for companies
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Nutrition research in Switzerland – challenges and solutions
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National Council strengthens bilateral relationship and rejects restriction initiative
On 25 September, the National Council debated the restriction initiative, which demands the termination of the agreement on the free movement of persons (AFMP) with the European Union if an amicable revocation cannot be agreed within 12 months. With 123 to 63 votes and 3 abstentions, the National Council clearly rejected the SVP’s restriction initiative. scienceindustries supports this decision. For the research-intensive, export-centric chemical and pharmaceutical industry, the current bilateral agreements are an important locational factor, and there are no prospects of an equivalent alternative. You can read more about this in our position paper (only available in German or French).
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Climate policy after 2020: consultation about CO2 law
During the autumn session, Parliament discussed several issues relating to climate policy, including the CO2 law. In general, the Council of States followed the recommendation of its Committee and went further than the Federal Council's proposal. This is not true, however, for the CO2 reduction target and its implementation. The Council of States stands by the original target; by 2030, greenhouse gases should be reduced by 50%, of which 60% via domestic measures. The maximum rate for the CO2 levy on fuels is higher than in the current law. Contrary to the recommendation of scienceindustries, the minority motion to maintain the current maximum levy of CHF 120 per tonne of CO2 was rejected by a clear majority. The new maximum amount is CHF 210 per T/CO2. Thankfully, the threshold for exemption from the CO2 levy was reduced from CHF 15,000 to CHF 10,000.
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Council of States adjourns debate about Responsible Business Initiative
The Council of States will only decide after the elections whether Swiss companies should be held liable for human rights violations and environmental damage by their foreign subsidiaries. It decided on 26 September to adjourn the debate about the indirect counterproposal to the Responsible Business Initiative (RBI). With 24 to 20 votes and one abstention, the Council of States accepted a procedural motion and removed the debate from the agenda. The LAC-S will discuss this matter again in light of the Federal Council's counterproposal. scienceindustries welcomes this decision, as the current indirect counterproposal is unlikely to decisively correct the misconceptions of the initiative. The Federal Council's new proposal is constructive insofar as it takes account of the business sector’s concerns and will have to be implemented in line with international standards.
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Quality of drinking water in Switzerland is high – response to NAQUA Report
In its NAQUA National Groundwater Monitoring report, the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN concluded that our groundwater continues to deliver “sufficient quantities of safe drinking water”. This encouraging result derives from the fact that groundwater in Switzerland is strictly controlled and has to comply with clearly defined official limits. The limits for plant protection products are observed at 98% of all measuring points in Switzerland. The limits for breakdown products (metabolites) relevant for drinking water quality are met by 99% of all measuring points. scienceindustries welcomes the Federal government's action plan for plant protection products, which proposes a further reduction of discharges into groundwater. See also the following media release (only available in German).
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Reference price system disfavours insured persons
On 21 August 2019, the Federal Council adopted the Dispatch on the partial revision of the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) concerning the first package of measures to reduce healthcare costs and referred it to the Swiss parliament. These measures include a reference price system that should serve to introduce a complicated system for the reimbursement of medication whose patents have expired (originals, co-marketings, generics and biosimilars). This is unnecessary as there is already such a system leading to significant savings on medication. By now, these savings amount to one billion francs per year. There is thus no need to revise the law. As many parts of the system will be specifically implemented through ordinances, the important parameters of the reform are unclear. The only sure thing is that the administration will be granted excessive powers and that the determination of the reference price will not be controlled by the rule of law. Planning certainty for players in the healthcare sector cannot be achieved in this way, which will have an immediate impact on security of supply. It is clear that this system has not been developed to benefit the insured persons and that it massively restricts patients’ freedom of choice. Insured persons will be expected to accept constant changes in therapy, or they will have to pay the surcharge on the reference price themselves. This also does not take account of the cost contribution and deductible. For substances of which there are only two of the same combinations, only the cheapest one will be reimbursed. A reference price system will therefore not lead to any noticeable reduction in premiums. Rather, the insured persons themselves will have to bear higher costs while cheap medication will jeopardise the security of supply.
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Free trade agreement with Indonesia
With regard to free trade agreements, scienceindustries lobbies for strong protection of intellectual property that goes beyond the WTO’s minimum protection standards. In our industry, the protection of patents and test data is of particular importance. scienceindustries supports the agreement with Indonesia that was negotiated by Switzerland on behalf of the EFTA countries as it simplifies market access for export-focused companies in our industry and also creates legal certainty. While scienceindustries agrees with the provisions on intellectual property, it challenges the Federal Council to keep a close eye on the development of patent protection in Indonesia after the ratification of the agreement and to push for a revision of the Indonesian law on patents.
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Free trade agreement with Mercosur countries
Thanks to the free trade agreement between EFTA and the Mercosur countries, the member companies of scienceindustries will benefit widely from lower customs duties on their products in the joint southern market. This includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (Venezuela has been suspended for the time being), which is a very interesting market with 290 million inhabitants. At the end of the transition period, 96% of current Swiss exports by the chemical and pharmaceutical sector to the Mercosur countries will be exempt from customs duties. The Mercosur countries’ reticence in granting intellectual property rights was to be expected in view of the outcome of the negotiations with the EU. scienceindustries will assess the free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries in detail upon receipt of the text of the treaty.
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Responsible Care Programme – self-assessment tool for companies
The Responsible Care Programme was updated at the European level to meet new corporate requirements in relation to the latest sustainability topics. At the end of June, the European Chemical Industry Council Cefic published the required tools: the self-assessment tool and the updated management framework. Using an Excel questionnaire developed with the support of scienceindustries, companies can independently measure their own sustainability status and then introduce specific measures to improve their performance. More information is available on the Responsible Care web page of scienceindustries (only available in German).
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Nutrition research in Switzerland – challenges and solutions
Although nutrition research in Switzerland is constantly being improved, there are still important gaps. This is the conclusion reached at a workshop held on 12 September by the Federal government that was organised with the support of scienceindustries. In addition to nutrition researchers, the workshop was attended by experts from the fields of agriculture, food and nutrition, nutritional consultation and public health. Speakers pointed out several times that the collection of data about the eating habits of the Swiss people has to be improved and more efficient methods of analysis have to be developed. Structural deficits were also identified, such as the fragmentation of the funding available for nutrition research and failure to communicate scientific results to the public. The discussion identified potential for improvement, which will soon be summarised in a report.
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scienceindustries is the Swiss business association for the chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Its around 250 member companies generate more than 98% of their revenues abroad. As Switzerland's biggest export industry, this sector contributes 45% to total exports and almost 40% to private research expenses in Switzerland
Stephan Mumenthaler, Director
Marcel Sennhauser, Deputy Director - Head of Communication
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scienceindustries Business Association Chemistry Pharma Life Sciences
Nordstrasse 15 | P. O. Box | CH-8021 Zürich
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