This weekend, as part of our outreach to the Washingtonians, we opened the doors to our Embassy and welcomed a record number of visitors to our EU Open House. Almost 6,000 people walked up Whitehaven Street and visited the Embassy of Denmark. Many had their picture taken with the Viking while others, when asked to name their favorite Danish company, were surprised to find that Lego and Pandora are indeed Danish. It was a pleasure to see everyone having a good time and learning something about Denmark. I am especially pleased that Norden, Novo Nordisk, Systematics, Arla, LEGO, Flødeboller Inc. as well as Kelsen were represented. These companies made a good impression for Denmark and I am grateful for their participation.

I am excited to see that the U.S. continues to be a very important export market for Denmark. For American Danish Business Council, the latest export statistics are very positive news!

Danish exports of goods to the U.S. increased by an impressive 20.9% to approx. 13.9 billion Danish Kroner (approx. 2 billion USD) in the first quarter of 2015. The huge growth in the export of goods to the U.S. is primarily driven by the strong U.S. dollar and the increased export of pharmaceuticals. In the first quarter of 2015, Danish export of pharmaceutical products to the U.S. accounted for approximately 6.9 billion Danish Kroner (approx. 1 billion USD), making it responsible for about 50% of the total Danish export of goods to the U.S. in that period.

Export of pharmaceuticals to the U.S. is mainly driven by larger Danish pharmaceutical companies including ADBC members Novo Nordisk, Leo Pharma and Lundbeck; however, some recent developments in the U.S. healthcare sector could also show great potential for Danish SMEs in the healthcare sector and Danish export of pharmaceuticals in general.