In March 2016 the Danish Parliament’s Business, Growth and Export Committee visited multiple locations across the east-coast as well as the mid-west; New York, New Jersey, Chicago and Washington D.C. The purpose of the visit was to visit Danish companies working in the U.S., American companies who are active in Denmark as well as putting focus on the sharing economy, entrepreneurship, TTIP and to look at potential growth for Danish businesses on the American market.

The Business, Growth and Export Committee started their visit in New York City where they met with Danish companies such as the Danish consultant business ReD, a strategy-based consulting company focusing on human sciences, as well as other Danish-American entrepreneurs in the area. They also visited the Danish CleanTech Hub which is a US-Danish public-private partnership and the single point of entry for all clean-tech related activities between Denmark and New York.

The increasing presence and progress made by Danish pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. warranted a visit by the committee to Novo Nordisk in New Jersey and Lundbeck in Chicago. They met with the President of Novo Nordisk Inc. USA, Mr. Jesper Høiland and Mr. Peter Anastasiou, President of Lundbeck USA, to discuss their business and investments in the American market. Furthermore, the committee met with two American pharmaceutical companies with subsidiaries in Denmark, BMS (Bristol-Myers Squibb) in NYC and Medtronic in Washington D.C., to talk about their growing investments in the Danish market.

The committee also visited Maersk in New Jersey at the APM Terminal to discuss global trade and how Maersk operates in the U.S. with the President of Maersk Line in North America, Mr. Michael J. White.

Besides discussing free trade and growth opportunities with the businesses, the committee also met with the Department of Commerce in Washington D.C. to discuss TTIP and its implications for Danish-American trade as well as EU-US trade which was a good precursor for a meeting with Google discussing the sharing economy with attendance from UBER and other innovative companies and think tanks.

Lastly the committee put focus on the progression of the Danish Water Alliance providing water technology to the in the U.S. The committee met with Glenbard Wastewater Authority to discuss the Water Technology Alliance and the new partnerships with Danish NISSEN Energy and Technology.