More than 350 U.S. and Polish business and government leaders gathered in Warsaw on April 26th for the U.S. – Poland Business Summit. Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki joined U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Elizabeth Erin Walsh and U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Paul Jones, in addressing the delegates at the Warsaw Marriott Hotel.
The Summit, which coincides with the Embassy’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of Poland’s regained independence and the United States’ key role in achieving it , highlights the economic and commercial bonds that exist between the United States and Poland that are a key component of our strong bilateral relationship. American companies were among the first to invest in Poland in 1989, and have played an important role in Poland’s economic transformation over the past twenty-nine years. Today, American companies in Poland are important contributors to Poland’s continued economic growth. American firms have invested more than $42 billion in Poland and employ more than 200,000 Polish citizens.
Poland’s economic growth has also increased the bilateral trade between the two countries. In 2017, U.S. – Poland trade totaled nearly $12 billion, which was a 22 percent increase in total U.S. – Poland trade since 2016. The Polish market offers U.S. firms significant opportunities in numerous industry sectors, such as defense, energy, and digital technologies, but there is room to grow this trade in the coming years.
None of this would be possible without an investment climate that promotes transparency, the respect for rule of law, the sanctity of contracts and the predictability needed for firms to commit not only to new investments, but more commonly, to re-investments, as many U.S. firms have done over the past several years.
Equally as important, there is a growing interest in Polish firms who are looking to invest in the United States. Via the SelectUSA program the U.S. Embassy can support Polish firms in pursuing the U.S. market as an ideal location for their future investment. As the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Erin Walsh mentioned earlier today, “I would encourage all interested to participate in our SelectUSA Investment Summit taking place June 20-22 in Washington D.C. Today’s event is a clear indication that U.S. and Polish firms are eager to work more closely together and that our two governments are committed to supporting increased bilateral trade and investment.”
