How Northern Virginia’s Ties to Europe Boost and Sustain The Local Economy and Environment – And What More Can Be Done

The transatlantic economy is the most interconnected, robust, and resilient commercial artery in the world. The $8.7 trillion transatlantic economy employs over 16 million workers in mutually on-shored jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. Ties are particularly thick in foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio investment, banking claims, trade and affiliate sales in goods and services, digital links, energy, mutual R&D investment, patent cooperation, technology flows, and sales of knowledge-intensive services.

The transatlantic economy has special effects on Virginia in general and Northern Virginia in particular. Six of the ten largest foreign investors in Northern Virginia are from Europe (the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands). Together, these six countries invest approximately $4.0 billion into 570 foreign-owned establishments creating approximately 30,000 jobs – predominantly in the science, technical services and information sectors.

Moreover, the United States currently accounts for over 53% of the world’s operational hyperscale infrastructure, measured by critical IT load. More than one-third of U.S. hyperscale capacity is in the Commonwealth of Virginia, which has far more hyperscale data center capacity than either China or all of Europe. Furthermore, European companies are the leading source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the U.S. energy sector, much of it in renewable energies. The union of these dynamics, plus that of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, has the potential to affect further the mutually beneficial adoption of sustainable energy and related technologies.

Please join the NVRC and Johns Hopkins University’s Foreign Policy Institute for a webinar that will explore the dynamic of economic engagement between the US and Europe and its effects on Virginia and Northern Virginia.

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, June 26 beginning at 12 Noon