MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes and a delegation of Wisconsin companies, will visit Europe in September to pursue new trade relationships and showcase the state’s expertise in advanced manufacturing, biotech, food manufacturing, energy, and water technology industries.
“This trade mission will underscore Wisconsin’s manufacturing, health, scientific, and food processing industries in a region where consumers with 60 percent of the European Union’s purchasing power live within 300 miles,” said Gov. Evers. “Wisconsin shares historical and cultural ties with the Benelux region and common commercial interests such as advanced manufacturing in Belgium and water technology in the Netherlands, and these similarities will serve as a starting point for successful partnerships.”
Ten Wisconsin companies will attend the mission, which will feature stops in Brussels in Belgium, Amsterdam and Leeuwarden in the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Planned stops include tours of Vrije Universiteit Brussel’s Green Energy Park and the Water Campus at Leeuwarden, which serves as a major European water technology hub, and more.
Belgium was among the top 10 destinations for Wisconsin exports in 2021, and the Netherlands ranked 11. When treated as a single market, the Benelux region purchases more Wisconsin exports than Germany, Wisconsin’s fourth-highest export destination.
“Wisconsin already has valuable partnerships with companies in the region, and this mission will allow us to solidify those relationships and build new ones,” said WEDC Secretary and CEO Hughes. “Home to Europe’s two largest ports, Antwerp and Rotterdam, Belgium and the Netherlands are considered a gateway for Wisconsin entrepreneurs looking to export to Europe.”
The Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter of food, just after the U.S., and the U.S. is the sixth-largest agricultural supplier to the country. Many U.S. food products are exported from the Netherlands after being processed there. Top exports to Belgium include chemicals, plastics, and machinery.
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