Since 1989 SACC-DC has offered a platform for developing U.S. – Swedish lucrative commercial ventures and professional opportunities through our network and business and social events. The SACC-DC Newsletter will help you stay on top of what’s happening in the Swedish-American business community and find the perfect opportunity to create new business connections in the greater Washington D.C. area and Mid-Atlantic region. |
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From the Executive Director |
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Dear Friends,
A lot of ideas and energy is flowing in the SACC DC office right now. Not only because of the improving Covid situation, but because our trainees are truly exceptional and more than doubled in numbers this fall, from the usual 2 to 5, thanks to a collaboration with Lund university. In "Behind the Scenes - What's Next?" is a glimpse into what we are currently working on.
Just a few blocks away from House of Sweden, there is also a lot of energy flowing as the Biden administration is in its final negotiations on the Build Back Better plan. We turned to our corporate member Pillsbury and SACC DC chairwoman Nancy Fischer and her colleague Craig Saperstein to help us better understand the bill and what it means for business, as well as sharing their insights on trade with China and the Biden administration's progress so far. Please see our Member Spotlight for the full interview.
Happy reading!
Lotta
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Member Spotlight: Nancy Fischer & Craig Saperstein from Pillsbury Law |
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We had the privilege to interview SACC DC’s own chairperson and partner at Pillsbury Law, Nancy Fischer and her colleague Craig Saperstein. Nancy Fischer specializes in international trade law and international dispute resolution. She leads Pillsbury’s 60-lawyer Public Practices and Public Policy sections. Craig is a partner in Pillsbury's Public Policy group and works with clients to develop and implement government relation strategies at both the federal and state levels. In this interview, we asked Nancy and Craig about President Biden's time in office so far and about current political developments in the business sector and the international trade arena.
How would you describe President Biden’s first 9 months in office?
Craig - We are at a moment in a time when things are relatively rocky for the Biden administration. President Biden got off to a strong start. He really improved the COVID response and his passage of the American Rescue Plan Act pumped a lot of money into individuals’ pocketbooks and to state and local governments. Further, he created a child tax credit that has significantly reduced child poverty, which is pretty remarkable. The administration then reached an inflection point in August, which is a typical time frame for new administrations to have their first troubles after the honeymoon period is over. However, in this case I would say it was a double whammy in August. There was the criticism over the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the way it was done. At the very same time the delta variant really started to rage in the country. I think the confluence of those events, combined with the difficulty of enacting major new social and economic policy bill through a closely divided Congress, have made this a tough period for the Biden administration. A lot of political pundits have said that the Afghanistan withdrawal was not something that was necessarily hampering Biden’s popularity, but I think it, in the minds of some Americans, undermined the notion that the adults were back in charge in Washington, that whether you agree with him on the issues or not you could depend on an experienced politician like Biden to lead effectively.
The other major selling point for President Biden is that he is a longtime legislator. He has a lot of experience in finding ways to make deals in Congress. Although, because the debate about the Build Back Better bill has gone on for so long now, I think the American public is starting to get a little antsy about whether his skills as a master legislator are coming into question. All those things have led to a reduction in the President’s popularity and some perceived momentum among Republicans that they will have a good chance on retaking control of Congress in next year’s midterm election. Still, I think a lot can change if both the bipartisan transportation and infrastructure bill and the big social policy bill is enacted into law. That bill also includes some tangible elements that people will be seeing the effect of in their daily lives - which could enhance President Biden’s popularity with voters. I think we will know in the next few weeks whether that social policy bill will actually move forward.
What impact do you think the Build Back Better Agenda would have on the Business Sector?
Craig - Firstly, there are a bunch of climate change related provisions. What exactly those will be we don’t know yet because there is a lot of infighting among Democrats as to how significant the climate change provisions will be in the bill. There are also a lot of healthcare and childcare related provisions. How robust and how long lasting they will be are details that are being worked out right now. But in particular, the President has framed all of the provisions in this bill as a matter of competitiveness with China and other countries around the world.
Nancy - I have heard some talk about the bill as a form of industrial policy. The US has not typically had industrial policy as such so this is a response to that. I think that the Buy America provisions that are in the bill also signal the focus on US manufacturing as well which is kind of a counter to China in that sense. A number of the things that will be funded also include types of electric vehicles and electrification and things that are moving into the next generation of emerging technologies. Hopefully we will see more on the semi-conductor side as well as the supply chain issues there have been quite pronounced. If we really are going to get companies like TSMC and GlobalFoundries to invest in the US, which they are committed to do, it could be a bit of a game changer from the standpoint of US technology and US production.
What can we say about the future regarding tariffs and trade with China? And how would you say businesses prepare for different outcomes of future trade talks?
Nancy - We have seen the United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, come out with a China policy a week or two ago, which largely mimics what the Trump administration was doing. We are seeing a lot of supply chain reviews going on right now across all of the major government agencies in a process of conducting that one-year review. The tariffs are staying in place and many businesses are being significantly impacted by those tariffs. In many cases the resources, whether it is manufacturing base or workers, have not been there yet to actually be able to make things here. It takes years to get some of the infrastructure in place to do that. Those are going to be some challenges that businesses face on the horizon as companies continue to face 25% tariffs on things that they still need from overseas but yet are not able to make here.
Further, the USTR has reached out to her counterparts in China to discuss the need to comply with the trade deal that was reached with China in terms of Chinese imports of US goods, in particular agriculture products. We will see how things progress on that front. I think the challenge is that there was an initial trade deal and then COVID hit. There were a lot of things that happened that arguably could have had an impact on some of the ability to comply with that trade deal. So now as we enter a more normal economy post-COVID, I think it is going to be judged on what in fact China is doing in relation to keeping those commitments. We also see the EU and the US in connection with the Trade and Technology Council engaging in relation to some of these big issues, those talks started at the end of September. We will see whether that is a basis for countering some of what arguably relates to different types of support that the Chinese government provides for businesses and whether those are subsidies and if we are going to handle this through the normal sorts of trade rules like anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases. Are we going to really reinvigorate the WTO and address some of the structural problems that the parties say they have and why we have been holding up a lot of the confirmation of the judges to be able to actually have a functioning appellate process? I think those are some things that there have been ongoing discussions about, and I think some of the things that have been put on the table are valid points to address. Hopefully rather than just not appointing judges, we can actually have a discussion around what is not working and how to fix it.
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Researched and written by Jakob Enander, Trainee |
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SACC-DC Open 2021 In Pictures |
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Thank you to all members and players who participated in the SACC-DC Open 2021 to benefit the National Breast Cancer Coalition. There was a beautiful day at Westfields Golf Club and we hope all participants enjoyed coming together to play golf and network for the 33rd in a row tournament. Congratulations to the top finishing foursome from Securitas: Andrew Dunn, Dean Turnbull, Matt Jansen, and Sean Roddy. We hope to have the pleasure of seeing you again at the next year's tournament. Until then, stay and play safe! |
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A Big Thank You to Our Sponsors That Made the Event Possible
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Exciting Day at the SACC-USA Executive Forum at House of Sweden |
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On September 30th, SACC-USA held its annual flagship event Executive Forum. This year’s event was held in person at House of Sweden in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden. The theme of the year was Business Opportunities under the Biden Administration. The forum featured speakers like the Swedish Ambassador Karin Olofsdotter, the Swedish Minister of Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs Anna Hallberg, the President and CEO of Ericsson North America Niklas Heuveldop, and Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup Jonas Prising – among many others.
Many speakers held both individual speeches and participated in panel discussions. Topics discussed during the day ranged from the US trade agenda and job market trends in the US, to the future business of renewable and sustainable energy and a political outlook panel discussion about political trends and challenges leading up to the mid-term elections 2022. Altogether, the event lived up to both expectations and traditions with a full and exciting schedule. The day was concluded with dinner and mingle.
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Researched and written by Jakob Enander, Trainee
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SACC-DC Behind the Scenes: What's next? |
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The SACC-DC team's mindset is always set on identifying relevant and professional content for our members and we work hard to provide our members with exclusive events, webinars, services, and much more. We would like to share a little bit of what is happening behind the scenes. As with any business, there is of course
administrative and financial work that needs to be tended to, but here are some insights into what is currently happening at the office.
Image shows some of the SACC interns during the virtual intern workshop
B2B Matchmaking
Through our newly proposed B2B Matchmaking Service, SACC-DC aims to provide our member base with matchmaking services. The purpose of the B2B Matchmaking Service is to develop our Networking Segment, allowing SACC-DC members to be matched with other member companies or small businesses. In alignment with SACC-DC's mission to provide a platform for networking opportunities, the newly proposed Matchmaking Service will benefit our members. Through our service, SACC-DC can provide valuable connections to our members, potentially resulting in new collaborations, clients, and partnerships.
Trade Services
Through our Business Service, we aim to support SACC-DC's member base with market research services. The purpose of the service is to increase our members' knowledge about specific markets. By collecting market statistics and researching consumer trends and demands, we believe we can complete that purpose. The expected outcome from the service is to create a report to the client with information gathered about the market.
Scandinavian Innovation
One exciting SACC DC initiative that is taking shape and that you will be invited to attend in the spring is "Scandinavian Innovation" - a collaboration together with the Danish and Norwegian Chambers of Commerce in Washington D.C. It will be a full day event where we bring together American and Scandinavian business, media and political representatives, sharing the latest insights in innovation.
Networking Event - later this fall
SACC-DC is currently planning for hosting an in person networking event in connection to the launching of our new business services. More details will be coming soon, but in the meantime you can email Louise at louise.nygren@sacc-dc.org if you would like to attend.
SACC Intern Workshop
Louise Nygren, one of SACC-DC's interns, initiated and planned a workshop for interns from the different SACC chapters throughout the country. The purpose of the workshop was to increase awareness of each chapter and their events, exchange experiences and ideas, and to promote increased collaboration. In addition, the planning for an intern gala has already begun to further accelerate the work with making use of all the unique experience and knowledge possessed by the broader SACC-USA chamber network.
Website Makeover
The SACC-DC website recently got an exciting facelift, with a design that puts further emphasis to our regional location, Washington DC. Please go check out the new design along with all of what the chamber has to offer at sacc-dc.org.
Follow us on Social Media
To stay updated on coming events and exciting news about SACC-DC, make sure to follow us on social media. Get directed straight to our appearance on different social media using the buttons at the bottom of the newsletter. Feel free to use any Social Media to contact us regarding any matter.
Board of Directors
Thank you to our 20 person strong board of directors. The broad expertise and experience among our board members provides great continuous supports to the team in everything we do. It is always a pleasure for us to work with each and every on of our board members. Please visit the board of directors page on our website to learn more about them.
Researched and written by Jakob Enander, Trainee
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A New Addition to the SACC-DC Team |
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In cooperation between SACC-USA and Lund University School of Economics and Management, SACC-DC has been fortunate to recruit additional trainees for the fall semester of 2021. All trainees are currently enrolled in studies at Lund University and will be part of the team at SACC-DC for a 20-week long internship until mid-January. Meet our latest addition to the team, Louise Nygren. |
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Louise is currently in her final semester pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics at Lund University, with a minor in organization and leadership. She has an interest in project planning and combining the creativity that comes with event planning with business. In the last year Louise has been project leader for the eeeDays in Lund, which is the largest career fair for business, economics and IT-students, in the Nordic region. Louise joined SACC-DC in September, first remotely from Sweden and now physically in Washington D.C. You can read more about Louise, and the rest of our team here.
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For the spring semester, Louise is interested in pursuing an internship at a company in D.C. while on her J-1 visa. Please reach out to Louise if your company would be interested in hiring an intern for a few months.
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A Message From the SACC-USA Talent Mobility Program
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Get an Intern to Your Office in 2022!
Reaching the month of November means reaching the end of a travel ban that has been in effect for a year and a half. America is reopening and the transatlantic bridge between Sweden and the U.S. is regaining traffic, and with many Swedes eager to gain international experience, now is the opportune moment to host a Nordic intern.
Utilize SACC-USA’s Talent Mobility Program and get top talent to your office in 2022. Well-educated, ambitious, and mature, a Nordic intern will contribute a specific skill set and new ideas for your company’s successful operations post-Covid.
Train your intern; learn from your intern.
Getting the right intern is easy and cost-efficient. Contact our International Trade and Business Associate Jesper Palmborg at jesper.palmborg@sacc-usa.org for more information
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Secure your membership today!
SACC DC organizes many events throughout the year to give our members access to professional networking. Our annual flagship business events include SACC Summit, the Young Professionals program, and other corporate events, seminars, and workshops. We also tailor trade missions for Swedish companies interested in the Greater Washington, D.C. area.
Whether an individual with a keen interest in or connection with Sweden living in D.C. or a company looking to establish new relationships, we can help you reach your next goal.
And right now, become a member for a discounted mid-year membership rate!
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