Fact Sheet: U.S.-Poland Business Roundtable

Fostering Greater Collaborative Commercial Cooperation

During his trip to Poland, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Donald Tusk discussed their countries’ common interests to enhance U.S.-Poland commercial relations.  Poland is an important commercial partner for the United States; the value of U.S. investments in Poland is $30 billion and our two-way trade last year totaled $6 billion.  Nonetheless, the United States is the world’s largest economy and Poland is one of Europe’s fastest growing, and we seek to stimulate more commercial activity between our countries. 

To that end, President Obama and Prime Minister Tusk announced the convening of a high-level U.S.-Poland Business Roundtable that would foster a collaborative government and private sector discussion to identify new commercial opportunities, promote innovative research and development cooperation, and to address obstacles that hinder commercial growth.  This announcement demonstrates a commitment by both governments and their private sectors to raise bilateral economic and commercial relations to a higher level and to substantially increase trade and investment flows.

• The Department of Commerce and the Polish Ministry of Economy will organize the roundtable event, which will include participation by other U.S. Government agencies and Polish Ministries and organizations.
• The United States will work with the Polish Government to convene this roundtable in the fall-winter of 2011. 
• Prior to the roundtable, the U.S. and Polish private sectors will canvass their respective business communities to identify and prioritize business opportunities and constraints.  An interim report would be presented to the two governments by October 1, 2011.  The final report developed by the private sectors will identify roundtable agenda topics for discussion.
• Senior level government officials from the United States and Poland will participate in the roundtable.  Participation of Polish and U.S. business executives will be drawn from the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland; the U.S.-Poland Business Council; the bi-national Polish Shale Gas Producers Association; the Polish Confederation of Private Employers; and other business organizations.

In conjunction with the roundtable, the United States and Poland will seek to hold an executive session of the U.S.-Poland Economic and Commercial Dialogue (ECD).  The ECD, co-chaired by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Polish Ministry of Economy, last met at an experts-level in Warsaw, Poland in April 2011.  The annual ECD fosters a high-level dialogue between both governments to promote bilateral trade and investment and to further bilateral Poland economic and commercial relations.