February 23, 2024

In Europe, Duckworth Continues Successful Campaign to Strengthen Economic Ties and Secure Major Investments for Illinois

 

[THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) in her role as a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week led an official visit to Sweden and the Netherlands to meet with business leaders in the energy, manufacturing and technology sector to discuss their innovative work and highlight for them how well-positioned Illinois is for future investments that would bring more jobs and economic growth to our state. During her official visit, Duckworth met both with companies and trade groups with current investments and partnerships in Illinois as well as organizations looking to expand investments in the U.S.

“As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I’ve been working hard to spread the message that Illinois is a great place to invest in whenever I visit our foreign partners, and I’m proud of the results those efforts have already achieved,” Duckworth said. “With this week’s visit to the Netherlands and Sweden, I was proud to learn more about the innovations being developed there and share why Illinois is the ideal location for international businesses looking to expand in the United States. I’m committed to helping bring our state even more investments that create good-paying jobs and strengthen our state’s economy while moving us toward a greener future.”

Duckworth’s meetings during the official visit included:

  • CSi Palletising, a global leader in material handling and palletizing systems for the consumer goods industry that is planning to further expand their U.S. operations. Duckworth directly encouraged the company to consider investing in Illinois.
  • Northvolt, a Swedish battery developer and manufacturer that is currently building the largest battery manufacturing and battery recycling plant in Europe and working to develop batteries manufactured with 100% recycled materials. Recycling electric vehicle batteries is the most sustainable option and will help better-position America as we compete with China in the electric vehicle sector. 
  • The American Chamber of Commerce in both Sweden and the Netherlands to discuss innovative energy solutions and enhancing our economic ties with investments from those nations.
  • Business Sweden, an organization that supports and promotes Swedish exports to other nations.

Duckworth is a proven leader on strengthening our relations with international partners while successfully securing significant international investments in Illinois. Last year she traveled to The United Kingdom and Romania, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as Japan to meet with government, trade and economic leaders and corporate and business officials to highlight how Illinois is uniquely positioned for greater investment and increased exports with international partners. Following her last trip, Japan announced a regulatory change that will lead to an increase in imports from U.S. biofuel producers, supporting our farmers and growing Illinois’s economy. 

In 2022, she also traveled to South Korea and Taiwan where she met with business, government and trade leaders, which helped lead to a joint venture between Illinois’s ADM and South Korea’s LG Chem, as well as a commitment from Taiwan to purchase an estimated $2.6 billion of our Illinois’s corn and soybeans. Duckworth also successfully included a modified version of her Strengthen Taiwan’s Security Act in the Fiscal Year 2023 NDAA to help Taiwan strengthen its military defenses.

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