Sweden sees opportunity for Minnesota exports

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Sweden and Minnesota have a lot in common, and it’s not just all the blond people named Olson.

Minnesota exports to Sweden totaled $84 million in 2017, making it the state’s 33rd-largest market for goods. Sweden supports more than 7,300 Minnesotan jobs, either through exports or at affiliated companies such as Securitas and Polygon Group, according to Sweden’s embassy in Washington, D.C.

The two also have similar economies and underlying challenges, said Karin Olofsdotter, Sweden’s ambassador to the U.S., at a Tuesday event hosted by the Minnesota Trade Office.

“We have similar challenges – lack of skilled labor in basically the same sectors, an economy that is well on track and also a lot of new citizens coming to our regions and countries, and finding good jobs for them and making them grow in our communities,” she said. “I think we have very similar challenges and opportunities that make good fundamentals for cooperation between Minnesota and Sweden.”

The Scandinavian nation, which relies on exports for more than 45 percent of its gross domestic product, is trying to strengthen those bonds. Like other countries in the European Union, Sweden already has been hit by U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. Sweden hopes ongoing trade negotiations will lift those barriers again, Olofsdotter said.

President Donald Trump “has claimed this is for security reasons,” she said of the tariffs. “We absolutely do not agree. Europe is not a security threat to the United States. On the contrary, we are a partner. … As we see it, this is pure protectionism, and it’s unfair.”

One area Sweden sees an opportunity for growth is in renewable energy and sustainable technology, as the country seeks to become fossil fuel-free by 2045.

“I think Sweden is a good test case to show it’s possible to combine economic growth with environmental sustainability,” Olofsdotter said. “We have for a long time broken the correlation between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions. Since the early 1990s, emissions have decreased by 25 percent in Sweden, while GDP has increased by almost 70 percent.”

Sweden’s aggressive fight against climate change creates a demand that Minnesota companies can answer, said Steve Riedel, regional trade manager for Western Europe and environmental and energy industries at the Minnesota Trade Office. In addition to the state’s current exports such as snowmobiles, Minnesota will find willing buyers for energy-efficient building supplies and HVAC equipment, low-energy construction methods, building performance measurement systems and more, he said.

“These are very specific niches the U.S. government has identified that Sweden is buying and looking for,” he said, citing a report by the U.S. International Trade Administration. “If you are a Minnesota company and you have any of those products, they have identified them as the best markets.”

Sweden can also contribute to sustainability efforts in Minnesota, Olofsdotter said, citing companies such as Ikea that are pioneering eco-friendly supply chain and manufacturing techniques. When asked how Minnesota can take advantage of Sweden’s model of sustainability, she said it comes down to political will.

“Sweden didn’t change overnight,” she said. “We came out of a time where … we had the oil crisis, we were a very polluted country, and gradually, over the last 40 to 50 years, we have been working on this.”

If they choose, Minnesota communities could do the same, she said.

“There’s no politician, I guess, who doesn’t want to run their city or state in an efficient way, saving money and managing to do more for the taxpayers,” she said. “It sounds easy, but it’s demanding. You have to demand this from your politicians.”

Law firm Dorsey & Whitney hosted the event at its downtown Minneapolis office.

Related:

• Amid trade war, Duluth port steams ahead
• Minnesota exports set 1Q record of $5.3 billion
• Swedish builder Skanska aims to make U.S. more green