American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) hosts welcome dinner honoring the arrival of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra

American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) hosts welcome dinner honoring the arrival of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra.
American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) hosts welcome dinner honoring the arrival of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra
American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) hosts welcome dinner honoring the arrival of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra.

On March 27, 2018, the Rotterdam Chapter of the AmCham hosted a welcome dinner on board the SS Rotterdam to honor the arrival of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra.

Among the guests were members of a bipartisan Congressional Delegation consisting of Congressman Bill Huizenga, Congressman John “Judge” Carter, Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, Congressman Gregory Meeks and Congressman Lloyd Doggett.

Over 140 AmCham members and their guests were present to meet the new Ambassador in person. A strong representation of American companies, including Dow, DuPont, DLA Piper, ExxonMobil, FedEx, Greenberg Traurig, Philip Morris International, and Pfizer among many others attended the event.

The American Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of American businesses in the Netherlands and supports the development of U.S.-Dutch economic ties.

American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) hosts welcome dinner honoring the arrival of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra
American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) hosts welcome dinner honoring the arrival of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra.

In his keynote speech, Ambassador Hoekstra focused on the The U.S.-Netherlands economic relationship, one of America’s deepest and most important trade and investment partnerships.

Ambassador Hoekstra: “The Netherlands is among Europe’s most dynamic and highly competitive economies,with strong historical trade and investment links to the United States. It  is the third largest foreign investor in the United States, supporting over 740,000 American jobs, and is the United States’ eighth largest goods export market, worth $40.4 billion.  Over 2,700 U.S. companies – nearly a quarter of all foreign-owned companies in the Netherlands – directly employ a quarter of a million Dutch workers.”

He closed his speech by telling the audience that he’s here to make the already great relationship between the U.S. and the Netherlands even better.