Heli Hyypiä
CounsellorDepartment for Europe, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Finland
Suvi Järvelä-Hagström
Counsellor, Deputy Director for Sustainable Trade
Department for International Trade, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Finland
In an attempt to kick-start transatlantic cooperation in the green transition, clean technologies as well as emerging tech, five new partnerships were set up between Finland and the U.S. in 2019-2022, with the states of Maine, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado, Washington and Texas. These partnerships, often based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Finland and the Governor of each state, establish a framework for research and commercial collaboration in mutually beneficial fields. The aim of these arrangements is to support more trade, investment and innovation partnerships between our regions. Bioeconomy is a key collaboration sector in most of these partnerships.
Bioeconomy relies on renewable resources to produce food, energy, products and services. Bio-based solutions reduce our dependence on fossil-based products and help prevent biodiversity loss. The demand for bio-based solutions is growing globally. Finland has developed its bioeconomy for hundreds of years, in particular its forestry industry. Today, Finland is a global leader in sustainable forest bioeconomy. Our technological know-how and policy insight is sought after, also in the US. American partner states, in turn, offer world-class research and innovation hubs and a fast growing market and interest for bioeconomy development.
The state partnerships offer a landing zone for Finnish actors, such as research organizations and companies, to find partners and get established in the vast U.S. market and research network. And vice versa, for Americans to find partners in Finland. The practical work includes trade and innovation delegation visits, mutual opportunities for research collaboration projects coordinated via active working groups as well as policy-level discussions between participating agencies and ministries. The work is supported on Finland’s side by the Team Finland network, which includes Finland’s Embassy and Consulates General in the U.S., the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as well as Business Finland.
In forest bioeconomy, for example, Finland, Maine and Michigan have worked trilaterally to offer opportunities for cooperation in five key thematic areas: smart forestry, new value-added products, advanced wood construction, biorefining and sustainable forest management policies. Universities, research consortiums, laboratories, agencies and the industry take part in activities together. In addition to state-level actors, connections to federal agencies and laboratories are fostered.
In recent years, the U.S. has channeled funding and efforts into removing obstacles hindering the growth of the bioeconomy sector. Particular attention is paid to forging partnerships that enable growth for the sector, which has long been dominated by bioenergy and biofuels. In 2022, led by President Biden, the U.S. introduced its biggest investment in clean energy and climate action in the country’s history, via the Inflation Reduction Act. According to the White House, this initiative has led to over 170 000 new jobs and 110 billion USD in new clean energy investments from companies during the first year alone.
It is notable that a large part of the connected federal funding for priority programs under the act gets channeled through the states. State partnerships offer opportunities for Finnish actors to join in some of the programs and business opportunities. Some states, like Washington, have even allocated specific state funding for the partnership with Finland.
Finland’s partnerships with US states comes at a juncture where the transatlantic economic partnership is more important than ever to both the U.S. and the EU. Both sides work together to remain leading economies globally, to promote their common values and to address global challenges, such as climate change and major geopolitical shifts. Entering the U.S. market has traditionally been a challenge especially to small and medium sized companies, and sometimes even to larger corporations, due to strong Buy American regulations. Removing barriers to trade between the EU and US markets create mutual wellbeing and make both our economies more competitive globally.
In 2021, the EU and the U.S. announced the formation of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), promoting mutual competitiveness, transatlantic trade in key sectors and strengthening democratic and free trade –oriented shared values. This is an important forum, and we hope to see concrete results, including through The Transatlantic Initiative on Sustainable Trade, TIST. TIST launched in 2022 and offers a pathway for dialogue to promote a more integrated and resilient transatlantic marketplace that will help accelerate the transition to a climate neutral and circular economy.
Sustainable trade and innovation will continue to grow in importance globally and in the transatlantic economy, as we move towards carbon neutrality. The partnerships forged between Finland and U.S. states have all the potential to produce value-added and wellbeing to both sides, boosting the green transition and clean technology innovations.
Heli Hyypiä served as counsellor for sustainable growth and commerce at the Embassy of Finland in the U.S. 2018-2022.
Suvi Järvelä-Hagström served as counsellor for public diplomacy at the Embassy of Finland in the U.S. 2019-2023.