On Oct. 30th, the International Council hosted a delegation of twenty-six trade counsellors from the European Union at the Chicago Club. Deputy Head of Trade at the EU delegation in D.C. Peter Young and Hungarian Embassy’s Economic Counsellor Simon Gabor discussed with Council Member Elke Rehbock, Partner at Dentons Law, the US-EU trade relation in the context of the green transition economy and its impact on the transportation sector. Competitiveness, economic security, and the need to coordinate China’s policy were among the topics that dominated the conversation as well as the outcome of the US elections.
The European Union and the United States have the largest bilateral trade and investment relation in the world. The EU is Illinois’ second largest export market and EU Foreign Direct Investment into Illinois totaled $90.3 billion in 2023, supporting over 240,000 jobs. This relationship is essential to our state, and the Council will be closely monitoring any policy developments in 2025 through our International Policy Desk.