This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Michael Ahrens, German consul general in Chicago.
The conversation explores economic ties between German and Midwest states including Wisconsin, as well as opportunities for boosting international trade and cooperation.
“If you ask somebody in Germany where are most subsidiaries of German-based companies, they probably would say California or New York, but it’s not true,” he said. “Actually, Chicago, southern Wisconsin, northern Indiana has the highest number of subsidiaries of German-owned companies in the U.S., followed by the Detroit area.”
Many of those subsidiaries are “hidden champions,” he said, pointing to small to medium-sized companies as well as family firms with a niche product.
“Even if you visit the production you sometimes wonder, okay, how does this work? But they are world leaders in their space,” he said. “But then you have also companies like Haribo, which has a production site down in Pleasant Prairie, who everybody knows.”
He called the Midwest region the “powerhouse of transatlantic trade relations” between Germany and the United States, adding there’s “a lot of potential and a lot of interest” in further investment between the countries.
Ahrens said the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, which has an office in Milwaukee, serves businesses seeking to expand into the region with various services. In recent years, they’re seeing “huge interest” in the area, he said.
Meanwhile, Ahrens weighs in on the latest tariff developments, noting a related “sense of insecurity” has been holding back some investment decisions.
“I feel the administration made it pretty clear that even if the Supreme Court is going this route, there might be other ways to still keep up tariffs, maybe on a different legal basis,” he said.
