October 2019
WORDS FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Fall is here, which in the SACC-USA Network means that we are getting ready for SACC Summit. The Summit is an opportunity for representatives of our 20 Regional Chambers along with members and partners to meet in person to forge relationships and make plans for our network to increase bilateral trade, investment and exchange between Sweden and the U.S.
 
The Summit theme is  Disruption - The New Normal . We have some really interesting topics lined up for you, from “Protective Intelligence to Mitigate Risk” to “Repercussions of U.S. Trade Policy.” As always, SACC Summit features prominent speakers including David Urban, CNN Political Commentator; Martina Rejsjö, Nasdaq; Dante Disparte, Libra; and Tim Rains, Amazon Web Services. Register today and join us in intellectually stimulating and thought-provoking discussions.
 
For better or worse, disruption is also a theme in U.S. politics. We have an inquiry that may lead to impeachment of the president on one side and investigations of the investigators on the other. No one can know with certainty where this will end, but it makes for an interesting time to be in Washington, D.C., that is for sure.
President and Executive Director
INSIGHTS
Trump's new trade deal with Canada and Mexico is just what we need
Exclusive CNN Interview with SACC-Executive Forum 2019 speaker Miriam Sapiro on Trump’s trade deal with Mexico and Canada.  Miriam Sapiro is a senior adviser to the Pass USMCA Coalition and served as  the Acting and Deputy US Trade Representative during the Obama administration.
The prospects for Congress ratifying a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada improved last month when  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  said, "we're moving ahead" and expressed hope for "a continuing path to yes."

No trade agreement is ever perfect. But the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the  trade deal  that could replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), is an improvement over NAFTA in several respects, especially when it comes to workers' rights and the environment. Drafted in the  early 1990s , NAFTA helped grow the US economy — as well as that of Canada and Mexico — and strengthened regional integration to an unprecedented level. Today, both countries are America's  two largest trading partners , and our three-way trade supports  more than 12 million  US jobs.

But NAFTA lacks many of the modern provisions now standard in US trade agreements. Environmental protection was addressed only belatedly in a  side agreement  that featured  non-binding recommendations , not enforceable obligations. By contrast, USMCA brings all environmental obligations into the core of the agreement, which makes them enforceable. It includes  provisions  to combat trafficking in wildlife, fish and timber; to improve air quality; and to curb marine pollution.

NAFTA also addressed labor rights in a  side agreement  that did not contain binding obligations or standardized protections among Mexico, Canada and the United States.  Wages remained low  in Mexico, attracting American companies there for years. Mexico also lacked sufficient incentives to reform its labor laws, failing to recognize workers' right to collectively bargain and join unions.

USMCA would improve the status quo in several ways. The  deal guarantees  Mexican workers the right to unionize, mandates safe working conditions and bans forced labor. It also prohibits employer interference in union activities and requires Mexico to establish independent tribunals to adjudicate labor disputes.
By boosting wages and benefits in Mexico, such provisions will reduce US companies' incentives to outsource jobs. Those stronger labor protections will also help Mexican consumers and small businesses. When workers take home more money and feel more secure in their jobs, they spend more freely.

NEWS
Natural cycles in the US
The first intelligent birth control app that may prevent pregnancy without hormones is available in the U.S.
The Swedish developed app Natural Cycles, which presents itself as the first intelligent birth control app that effectively prevents pregnancy without hormones, is launching in the U.S. The app tells its users when they are fertile and when it is advisable to use protection to avoid becoming pregnant by analyzing the user's basic body temperature. The user keeps track of daily body temperature with a 2-decimal thermometer, then puts data into the app which uses an algorithm to determine whether you should use protection.

The app was accepted by the FDA as a contraceptive in August 2018, and in January 2019 Natural Cycles began offering the app through a state program, Title X, which offers contraception to people with low income or without insurance. Women in New Hampshire are the first to have the opportunity to test the app.

Stanford psychology expert: This is the No. 1 work skill of the future - but most fail to realize it
The challenge at work, of course, has always been to  dodge things that distract us . But today’s distractions feel different.

The amount of information available, the speed at which it can be disseminated and the ubiquity of access to new content on our devices has made for a trifecta of distraction.

What’s the cost of all this? In 1971, the psychologist  Herbert A. Simon emphasized  that a wealth of information means a dearth of something else: attention.

That was true decades ago, but it’s truer than ever today. Attention, it appears, seems to be the ultimate scare resource in today’s economy. And if we don’t address it now, it’s only going to get worse.

The workplace is rapidly changing, and in the near future, there will be two kinds of people in the world: those who let their attention and lives be controlled and coerced by others and those who proudly call themselves “indistractable.”

An internet split between the US and China could be an investment opportunity

The U.S.-China trade war could lead to a technological split between Asia and America that could benefit investors, James Coulter, the co-chief executive of private equity firm TPG Capital, says.

Over the past year, Washington and Beijing have been locked in a trade dispute. Some key sticking points in ongoing negotiations include technological issues like alleged intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers.

Amid few signs of progress, investors and analysts have started to discuss what an internet split between the U.S. and China, or “splinternet,” would look like. The countries already compete for technological dominance across internet services and applications.

But Coulter said a fragmented internet may in fact be a silver lining for investors. “This world of two tech stacks, I think, is going to be a fascinating setup for investment opportunities,” Coulter added.

Sweden gets new US ambassador after over 30 months
The US Senate has approved a new ambassador to Sweden – after more than
30 months without anyone in the spot.
The role has been empty since January 2017 when President Donald Trump took office. Not at any point in the past century has Sweden gone this long without a US ambassador.
Last year, Trump eventually nominated Ken Howery – a 44-year-old entrepreneur and venture capitalist from Texas, who co-founded PayPal with Elon Musk – for the role.

And a few weeks ago he was approved by the US Senate, with 62 yea votes to 32 nays, the final step in the process which clears the way for Howery to take up the position in Stockholm.
"An ambassadorship is a position of honor and trust, and I will strive to do credit to the office. I look forward to being sworn in soon and beginning my work," tweeted Howery.

AGA opens Europe’s largest automated gas filling plant in Sweden
AGA, part of the German multinational conglomerate Linde Group, has inaugurated Linde’s most modern gas filling plant so far, located in Enköping some 80 km west of Sweden’s capital city Stockholm. 

The fully automated cylinder filling plant is the first of its kind in Europe and relies on robotics in every phase of its operations, from sorting and filling to warehousing and picking. The investment amounts to €40 million and has created 50 new jobs in Enköping.

“The facility in Enköping is unique. It is the most modern gas cylinder filling plant with fully automatic cylinder handling. This provides numerous benefits to our customers and employees alike in terms of quality, safety and work environment”, says Andreas Opfermann, CEO, AGA Gas AB.

Are recession risks rising?
The past year has produced several periods of heightened uncertainty and increased financial market volatility. Between the yield curve inverting, tariffs rising, and slightly weaker job growth, you’d be forgiven if you thought the economy was already in the middle of a severe recession. Despite the recent bouts of pessimism, the U.S. economy is still growing at a modest pace and the prospects for the remainder of the year, at minimum, appear reasonable. Yet confusion reigns.

This is evident in the stock and bond markets, which are currently telling two different stories about the future course of economic growth. The stock market is near its historical high and despite increased volatility has performed quite well in recent months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, for example, has increased more than 10% since the start of the year.

PROFILES
Meet Mats, founder of IoT company Sensative!
What has your journey been like leading up to where you are today in your career?
I was fabulously lucky by getting my first job at Ericsson in Lund when Ericsson had just started developing mobile phones back in 1987. From then on, I got to experience 25 years of probably the most interesting journey regarding the development of mobile phones. These years gave me a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience, both good and bad, which led up to 2012 when Sony took over the mobile phone business and moved most things to Japan. In connection to this, I decided it was time for me to use my knowledge and experience elsewhere and try to do something on my own. Which led to the creation of my company Sensative!

What does Sensative do in short?
We develop products and software platforms in order to help municipalities and real estate companies to digitalize using IoT to create an efficient and effective automation and data visualization to improve sustainability and profit. We are currently working with real estate companies by adding sensors and data visualization to their properties in order to improve the efficiency of the heating, ventilation and cooling systems. We are also working with a start-up company to develop small size water re-generation systems to enable decentralized water purification systems that reduce energy and water waste.

What is Sensative’s mission? 
Our mission is to create the most effective tools as to enable municipalities, real estate companies, farmers, factories and more to take ownership of their own destiny in regard to sustainability, reducing energy and improving their own profits. 

What would you say are the biggest struggles of starting a company?
Money. Money. Money. Money.

Do you have any advice for people with startups?
Yes, I do. Most startups are very focused on their product and business model. But equally as important is the process and model to finance the journey. The choice of both investment models, investors and timing is very important for the build-up of the company.

Sensative is a sponsor of SACC Summit 2019 and you will also be hosting a panel discussion about sustainable buildings. Regarding sustainability in relation to IoT, what opportunities do you see? What challenges do you see? 
The opportunities are end-less when you start using IoT to automate your processes and become data-driven. We see 25-50 % reduced energy and water usage and 50 % reduced waste. IoT for improved surveillance can reduce crime by 30-40%. Using IoT and data to increase food production is key to feed the world tomorrow. The challenge is poor interoperability between IoT products and services. More that 40 % of the value from IoT are lost according to McKinsey because of this.  
TRAINEE SUCCESS STORY
“We see this as an opportunity to connect with a global network of talents”
Abraar Chaudhry has just returned to the US to begin his PhD at Princeton University. This summer he interned at Gothenburg based start-up Captario, which develops innovative software solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. We caught up with Abraar and Magnus Ytterstad, VP Products at Captario to hear about their experience.
 Abraar on his background and why he chose Sweden:

I am originally from Connecticut and have always been interested in mathematics, data analytics and machine learning. This spring I graduated from Brown University with a degree in Applied Mathematics. After graduating I was looking for opportunities to gain some work experience abroad. When I found out about the internships facilitated through the Swedish-American Chambers of Commerce (SACC-USA) I thought it would be a unique and interesting experience.

On working at a start up in the pharmaceutical field:

I arrived in Gothenburg to start my internship at Captario in June.  Captario  is a start-up that believes that writing better code makes for better drug projects and in turn saves more lives. My onboarding was very swift and I was immediately made to feel welcome and I was assigned two projects: one handling data visualization and the other with portfolio optimization. It was my first foray into the world of pharma, as my previous work experience was in the aerospace industry. I was excited to go into this new field since the development of new medicines is such an integral part of society and it has been such a great learning experience.
On applying for an internship through the American Talent to Sweden programme:

Before coming to Sweden, I had quite limited knowledge about the country, but I was curious to know more. I knew about the welfare system being highly developed, that it is an almost cashless society and I had some vague idea of the cuisine.

The process of applying for the internship and travelling to Sweden was very smooth. I received great help with permits and paperwork through the SACC-USA and they let me know what I had to do through each step of the process, and I was really glad to have this resource. It would have been a headache to have to go through the bureaucracy on my own.
Magnus Ytterstad, Vice President Product of Captario, on Abraar's contributions during his internship:

Abraar contributed great value to our company during his internship – he worked on two projects together with our experts to optimize our products and offerings.

In addition to the concrete contributions to our projects, the exchange of ideas has been really important to us. Bringing people with diverse backgrounds and different perspectives to the table is a great added value and also offers us the opportunity to grow an international network of talents, which is important since our customer base is global.
SACC-USA is partnering with the Swedish institute and The American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden to bring together American talents with Swedish companies to increase and facilitate talent mobility.
EVENTS
REGIONAL CHAMBER EVENTS

October 7th
Arizona - Accelerate Your Growth by Applying the Five Musts of Executive Leadership
6.00 pm - 9.00 pm

October 7th
Minnesota - Fall Euro-Cocktail 2019, Meet the Leaders of Swiss Precision Manufacturing!
6.00 pm - 8.00 pm

October 10th
San Diego - Digitopia Business Mixer, The 3 sales secrets your marketing is missing
6.00 pm - 8.00 pm

October 12th
Arizona - Traditional Crayfish Party
6.30 pm - 9.30 pm

October 17th
Chicago - Greenbyte, Speaker event

October 17th
Washington DC - Swedish Embassy Open Golf tournament
8.00 am - 9.00 pm

October 23rd
Ohio - Color and Comfort: Swedish Modern Design, An exhibition held by Stephen Harrison, Curator of Decorative Art and Design, at the Arlene M. and Arthur S. Holden Textile Gallery
5.30 pm

October 24th
Washington DC - Speech-masters Course, H ow to master public speaking with conviction!
6.00 pm - 7.30 pm

October 29th
San Francisco - European Pitch Night
6.00 pm - 8.00 pm