Gov. Evers Plans Trade Mission To Europe With 10 Wisconsin Companies

WISCONSIN — Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is headed to Europe in September for a trade mission alongside various Wisconsin companies, according to a news release from his office.

Evers will be traveling alongside Missy Hughes, the CEO and secretary of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and ten Wisconsin companies with an itinerary that includes Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The trip comes in an effort to showcase the advanced manufacturing, biotech, food manufacturing, energy and water technology industries from the Badger State, according to Evers' news release.

Among the stops are tours of the Vrije Universitat Brussel's Green Energy Park or the Leeuwarden Water Campus, "a major European water technology hub," said the news release. The governor's office highlighted that Belgium was among the top ten destinations for Wisconsin's exports in 2021, with the Benelux region overall purchasing more Wisconsin exports than purchases from Germany.

“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 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.”

Hughes noted that the mission will allow Wisconsin to solidify already valuable relationships with companies in the region and that the Netherlands and Belgium are considered "a gateway for Wisconsin entrepreneurs looking to export to Europe" because they have two of Europe's largest ports.