Episode description

In the latest edition of “Talking Trade,” German Deputy Consul General in Chicago Gabriela Bennemann discusses the close trade relationship between the Midwest and Germany. 

She highlights the role of Germany’s consulate in the region, ranging from cultural work and services to promoting international trade in partnership with the German American Chamber of Commerce. 

“We as a consulate are best equipped to support the activities of the chamber on a political level,” she said. “Helping with negotiations, negotiating memoranda of understanding, or any such thing. So we work hand-in-hand.” 

Bennemann shares figures to illustrate Germany’s economic presence in America, noting 5,800 German businesses are located in the U.S. and German companies have invested $619 billion domestically. That’s in addition to $11 billion going into research and development in the U.S., with 75% of that figure focused on manufacturing R&D. 

About half of those German companies in the U.S. are in the manufacturing industry, she notes, adding German businesses collectively represent the third-largest employer in the United States with more than 900,000 jobs. 

“That is, I think, the best number that we can give you because it shows how integrated the German trade and German companies are,” she said. “If you look at the Midwest, it’s basically the main area where the German companies are located.” 

Wisconsin imports about $2.6 billion in goods from Germany each year, she said, along with about $1 billion in state exports to the European country. 

The podcast also explores the potential for future trade agreements at the European Union level, along with non-binding structural agreements between states that can offer a framework for economic cooperation.