(INDIANAPOLIS) – Governor Holcomb says last week’s whirlwind tour of Europe will produce dividends for the state.
Holcomb says while there aren’t any immediate investments to announce, the six-country tour was a chance to form personal relationships, and say thank-you to businesses already operating in Indiana. Indiana is home to 121 German-owned businesses, plus nearly 100 more headquartered in France, Switzerland and Austria. The list includes some of Indiana’s most prominent employers, including Swiss-owned Roche Diagnostics and Germany’s Siemens Healthcare.
Holcomb also visited the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Indiana-headquartered Eli Lilly and Zimmer Biomet have operations in both countries. And the Slovakian military has partnered with the Indiana National Guard since 1994, a year after the breakup of the former Czechoslovakia. Holcomb says the trip was a chance to say thanks for that cooperation as well.
Holcomb concluded the trip one week before the Trump administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union. The EU has sharply criticized the move and warned it will retaliate.
Holcomb hasn’t commented directly on the tariffs. He says his administration has been monitoring the impact of a first round of tariffs against Chinese imports levied in March.
Gov. Eric Holcomb (Photo: Eric Berman/WIBC)
