German Trade Mission Reveals Tariff Fears, Short-Term Opportunities

Fears of an international trade war might hurt Connecticut in the long run — but it may lead to new jobs in the short term.

So reported Gov. Ned Lamont at a press conference Tuesday at the headquarters of the state-connected economic development nonprofit AdvanceCT on James Street in New Haven.

Lamont and state innovation chief Daniel O’Keefe reported on a $50,000 seven-day, five-person trade mission they led to Germany. They said their team met with over 40 German companies and venture capital firms about potential expansions in Connecticut, with a focus on aerospace and biosciences.

Germany is already Connecticut’s top trading partner, accounting for 17 percent of foreign direct investment in the statement and over $2 billion in annual exports, they said. (Click on the above video to watch Lamont summarize the sales pitch he made to potential investors.)

The U.S. GOP presidential nominating convention loomed large in the backdrop of the trip.

“They were nervous as heck” about, among other issues, ​“talk about a trade war,” Lamont reported, referencing former President Donald Trump’s vows to hike tariffs if elected to a second term.

That wasn’t completely bad news for Connecticut, in the short term.

“They do say, ​‘With tariffs, maybe if we locate here in the United States we can mitigate some of that risk,’” Lamont said.

“More broadly, Germany worries about a trade war, what that does to the economies of Germany and the United States,” the governor added. ​“A trade war does not benefit Connecticut. We are a very export-oriented state as well.”

“Of course it creates a short-term interest in having conversations. … That’s the point of protectionism,” O’Keefe agreed. ​“But long term it’s not great for our economic prospects. The governor and I are both capitalists at our core” and don’t support increasing tariffs.

O’Keefe said all the companies approached on the trip expressed interest in talking further. He declined to name any of them — lest he tip off officials in other states competing for the same business.

Lamont said ​“we had to spell ​‘Connecticut’” for people in Stuttgart who hadn’t met visiting officials from the state before.

“What we’re trying to do is put Connecticut on the map,” he said, ​“make sure when people think about where they want to get a foothold here in the United States, a foothold here in the Northeast, they think about Connecticut as well.”