Stronger Together: Colorado Governor, Mountain West officials celebrate trade with EU
By: Matthew Stefanski
Tags: Import, Export, Trade, Investment, European Union

More dialogue, less tariffs, and increased exports to the EU can help strengthen regional economies in the U.S. Mountain West, trade officials from Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico said during an online trade roundtable hosted by the European Union.

“The European Union and the United States are the two biggest, most open economies in the world,” said Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, adding that our trade ties are centered on important shared values, including a commitment to “fair competition, a respect for labor standards, and respect for the environment.”

Although the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted supply chains and severely impacted the global economy, it has not weakened the resolve to maintain the decades-long balanced transatlantic economic ties between the EU and the United States. The EU is a major trading partner and the single biggest investor in the United States.

These mutually beneficial trade and investment ties were the focus of “Stronger Together: EU and the Mountain West,” a virtual trade roundtable and networking event held November 18 celebrating the EU’s economic relationship with Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

EU Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis discuss EU-Mountain West economic ties.

Ambassador Lambrinidis and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis opened the event with a fireside chat discussing the state of transatlantic trade in the Mountain West region.

“C oloradoans generally are for free trade with Europe, free exchange of ideas, goods, culture, and service without tariffs,” said Governor Polis, noting the detrimental effect that tariffs have had on Colorado’s farmers, ranchers, and consumers.

Pointing to Colorado’s environmental record and leadership on renewable energy development, Governor Polis said Colorado will work with their European partners in 2021 to re-establish international supply chains that may have suffered due to the pandemic.



The trade roundtable featured a dynamic and wide-ranging conversation with representatives from each of the four Mountain West states, moderated by the EU Delegation’s Head of Trade, Tomas Baert.

Clockwise from top left: Karen Gerwitz, Kevin O’Shea, Alicia Keyes, David Carlebach, and Tomas Baert

“Trade does not just mean trade of goods. It means trade of knowledge, trade of ideas, trade of technology,” said Denver World Trade Center President Karen Gerwitz, adding that tariffs impact this free-flowing exchange by adding uncertainty, complicating supply chains and making it more difficult for companies to plan for the future. Gerwitz said that tariffs impact consumers, as the costs are passed on to them through increased prices. Rural areas are especially harmed by tariffs, she said, as those communities tend to be more focused on agriculture and manufacturing.

David Carlebach, Vice President for International Investment at World Trade Center Utah, provided an overview of the importance of foreign investment to the U.S. market. “Roughly 4.5–8% of employment in the U.S. is tied to companies owned internationally, and most of that is from Europe,” he said. In Utah, Carlebach said there are roughly 50,000 jobs tied to foreign investment, which is lower than the national average and illustrates that the state has room to grow.