61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

supply the population with food and purchasing power. From the point of view
of neutrality, continued close economic co-operation was unproblematic as long
as the so-called courant normal (normal course of business) was preserved, in other
words, as long as Switzerland did not unilaterally exploit new business opportunities
and market niches created by the war.
One central objective of the war economy was the control of foreign trade. The
Federal Council – with the support of the private sector – did everything it could
to prevent each of the two military camps from once again accusing the small
neutral state of Switzerland of acting as a base for the efficient industrial operations
of their opponent. Such foreign involvement in domestic economic affairs
was to be met with a workable bundle of measures, and clear communication with
the outside world. Thus foreign trade was now much more strongly anchored
within the wartime economy as a whole than during the First World War.
This movement took place at several levels, and was managed by newly-created
bodies. The small, high-calibre delegation for trade negotiations had been
firmly in the saddle for some time. It conducted foreign trade policy during the
war years, and – alongside Ernst Laur (Farmer’s Union) – consisted of the
«Triumvirate» of Jean Hotz (Trade Division – Handelsabteilung), Heinrich
Homberger (Vorort) and Robert Kohli (Federal Political Department – Eidgenössisches
Politisches Departement, EPD). The government had already issued export
restrictions a few days before the outbreak of war; on 2 September 1939 these
measures became generally applicable, and the requirement of authorisation was
introduced. Three weeks after the beginning of the war, on 22 September, a 20man
committee was set up to oversee imports and exports, chaired by Hans
Sulzer. Its job was to promote consensus-building between the often diverging
economic interests. The control measures were based on a rapidly increasing
number of war economy consortiums, and made a considerable contribution to
the administrative merger of private business organisations and the state. The
accumulation of functions on the part of the economic policy-making elite
further strengthened the process. 24 October 1939 saw the founding of a central
office to oversee foreign trade, affiliated to the Trade Division at the Department
of Economic Affairs (Eidgenössisches Volkswirtschaftsdepartement, EVD). One week
later, the Federal Council forbade Swiss firms to submit themselves to foreign
controls. This meant that the import, utilisation and export of goods, coordinated
by the «Section for Imports and Exports» («Sektion für Ein- und
Ausfuhr»), were incorporated into a complete mechanism of supervision by the
authorities and self-regulation by associations and the private sector. This step
enabled Switzerland to make use of what little scope remained for national
sovereignty and autonomy in negotiations, in an environment altered by
military conflict and economic warfare.
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