Ambassador Jean-Arthur Régibeau is the Ambassador of Belgium to the United States. He oversees the bilateral relations, economic partnerships, and consular services. Previously serving as the ambassador to the Russian Federation, Armenia, Belarus, and Uzbekistan, he brings vast diplomatic experience and geopolitical knowledge to his role. Ambassador Régibeau has a distinguished career, beginning in the private sector and transitioning to advisory and ministerial positions. His tenure reflects a commitment to fostering cross-border collaboration and understanding.
Are you curious about the intricate dynamics of international business and how small countries can wield significant influence in global markets? How does a nation like Belgium, with a population density far higher than the US, navigate and thrive in today’s economic landscape?
According to Ambassador Jean-Arthur Régibeau, a seasoned diplomat with extensive experience in global affairs, Belgium’s strategic location and cultural flexibility are key to its success. He highlights Belgium’s position at the heart of Europe, allowing access to a vast market within a 200-mile radius, encompassing countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands. This geographical advantage, combined with a multilingual and adaptable workforce, enables Belgium to attract substantial foreign investment and maintain robust economic relationships. Ambassador Régibeau also underscores the role of Belgium’s state-funded education system in fostering high-level research and innovation, particularly in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.
In this episode of America Open for Business, Cameron Heffernan sits down with Ambassador Jean-Arthur Régibeau, Ambassador of Belgium to the United States, to discuss the Belgian approach to international trade and business expansion. They explore the strategic advantages Belgium offers to businesses, the comprehensive support system for Belgian companies entering the US market, and the importance of adapting to regional differences within America.
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Narrator: 0:03
Welcome to America Open for Business, where we talk with high-growth entrepreneurs and leaders who have found success in one of the world’s most important markets.
Cameron: 0:14
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of America Open for Business. I’m your host, cameron Heffernan, and I’m very excited today to dive into a discussion with an esteemed guest. Before we do that and I introduce him, I’m going to mention that the episode is brought to you by your B2B Marketing, a truly global marketing agency. Many mid-market B2B companies face challenges with new market entry or expansion across borders, so we handle end-to-end marketing, from strategy through execution, which allows our clients to focus on customer growth. Discover how we can drive your expansion by visiting yourb2bmarketingco. Some past guests of the show that I’ve been fortunate to have on the program are Brian Smith, the founder of the UGG Australia brand of sheepskin boots and slippers, and Ben Tija, who’s the founder and CEO of Earthly Wellness, a $20 million direct-to-consumer e-commerce wellness brand. And today I’m thrilled to have on the show Ambassador Jean-Arthur Regebeau, who is the ambassador from Belgium to the United States of America. Ambassador Regebeau, welcome to the program. Good morning Okay, america. Ambassador Rejabo, welcome to the program. Good morning, okay. I’m going to go through and try to hit as many of the highlights of your bio as I can for our listeners.
Cameron: 1:31
Ambassador Rejabo is a representative from the nation of Belgium to the United States. He is responsible for the direction and work of the embassy and its consulates. That includes bilateral political and economic relations, visa and consular services the person you call when you’re in trouble in the country overseas and need some help. His office handles that. As well as the bigger picture geopolitical relationships, commercial relationships you worked in the private sector and later as a legal advisor, before you joined the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998, worked at the Ministry of Defense and the Foreign Ministry and then later you were the ambassador to the Russian Federation, armenia, belarus and Uzbekistan and then, after that post as ambassador, now you’re ambassador to the United States of America, and that’s the capacity we’re going to talk with Ambassador Rejabo today. I thought we’d start off the program with something a little bit different and hopefully a little bit fun of a quiz to see how well you know your country. All right, so, true or false? Belgium produces 80% of the world’s billiard balls. Billiard balls Billiard balls like for playing pool.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 2:50
It might even be true. I’m not sure, but it might be true because we are good, that is true, antwerp is the fifth largest port in Europe.
Cameron: 2:58
True or false?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 3:00
False.
Cameron: 3:01
It’s the second one, got it Two for two. This one, I think, is going to be a gimme, but most Americans don’t know this. There’s a pipeline of what product beneath the streets of Bruges.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 3:14
A pipeline.
Cameron: 3:15
A pipeline of what liquid product that runs beneath the streets of Bruges.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 3:22
Well, I don’t know, what we typically have is natural gas, but given the question it might be something else Beer really. Oh, I didn’t know that.
Cameron: 3:31
Yeah, it was innovative at the time and they were protecting the downtown, the streets and preserving it, and I think it’s a couple kilometers long, so that was big news. This one should be an easy one, especially in your Walloon Well, partly Walloon, right.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 3:48
Yes, absolutely yes Okay.
Cameron: 3:50
Which musical instrument was invented by a Belgian man in the 1840s? Saxophone, voilà, adolf Sax in the early 1840s. Most people don’t know that, do they not? 99% of Belgium is equipped with high-speed internet. True or false? It should be true. Yes. All of these facts, by the way, are from the fantastic site Uniquely Phenomenal, which is a Belgian site promoting all of the facts and figures in tourism in English, french and Dutch. Finally, which of the following people are not Belgian and Dutch? Finally, which of the following people are not Belgian? Jean-claude Van Damme, audrey Hepburn, louis Pasteur or René Magritte? Pasteur is French. All right, pretty good, pretty good.
Cameron: 4:38
So I like to do that, just to kick things off. So, because you’re stationed in the dc area, you would know this, but a lot of our listeners would not. Belgium physically is the size of the state of maryland. The footprint is the size of maryland, small state by american standards, um same population of the state that I’m in today, ohio. Much bigger footprint in space. Belgium and netherlands are some of the most densely populated countries within Western Europe. So how does such a small country punch above its fighting weight? In a lot of ways, why is Belgium so important in Western Europe, as well as its relationship to the USA.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 5:21
Well, I think there are several factors. For example, if we are now the seat of both NATO and the EU, it’s because we are centrally located in Europe, which is now a blessing but has not always been. If you put a dot on the map of Europe for every major battle that has been fought for the last four centuries, they are scattered a bit everywhere on the map, but with heavy concentration in the middle, and that corresponds to today’s Belgian territory. So, for example, waterloo, which is a famous name in world history well, it’s 15 kilometers south of Brussels because big powers tended to meet in the middle and most of the time it was in Belgium. And you know that’s also true for World War I, flanders Field, world War II, battle of the Bilge, which is very well known here in the US because of heavy American participation and air resistance to a German advance in 1944. And so that’s why we concentrated the struggle of big powers for a very long time and we tried neutrality for decades, but it did not work out for us. We were invaded both in 1914 and 1940 by the German Empire, and after the Second World War we decided to go for an alliance of Western nations, which obviously includes the United States, and that’s very important for us. It’s a big factor of stability.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 6:52
The second aspect I think has to do with the economy. Belgium was the second industrialized country after Great Britain in the 18th century, due to the fact that we had a lot of coal and iron. We also had one of the first railway lines in the world between Brussels and Mechelen, and so by 1914, we were clearly one of the most industrialized nation in the world. Of course, nowadays coal mines are closed. Steel industry is very small in our economy, but it explains why we served among top economic countries in the world and we had to adapt, especially after World War II. But today we’re still very strong in chemical products, also in pharmaceuticals, something that is not widely known. For example, the first Pfizer vaccines that were administered in the US during COVID were produced in Antwerp because Pfizer has a large plant in Antwerp and they were shipped to the US. So that kind of fact explains why we play probably a role that is a bit bigger than our territory right and if you look, I think it applies on lots of different levels.
Cameron: 8:12
Um, let’s say, militarily or geopolitically, it’s important nato is headquartered in outside of brussels. Uh, when I was in belgium, I remember the statistic At any given time there are 60,000 Americans that are in Belgium, and that’s an ocean away. It’s not like it’s Germany or France or Britain. So you’ve got NATO, the alliance. Belgium is a key member of that alliance, as well as all of the European institutions. Maybe you can educate our audience a little bit about the importance that Belgium plays, both on the military alliance front as well as the institutions there in Brussels.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 8:50
Well, in terms of the military we are a relatively small player, a country of 12 million. We do contribute to NATO proportionately, I would say. But the fact that the institutions are based in Belgium we are very proud of because it’s also, I would say, a recognition of the experience we’ve been through in the past. So, for example, 1914, we were invaded by the German Empire. We suffered a lot, occupation for four years, also occupation between 1940 and 1944.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 9:25
During the First World War we were referred to as poor little Belgium in the United States. In the United States and, for example, we were the beneficiary of a large amount of food aid coming from the United States and the commission was chaired at the time by the future president Hoover of the United States. It was a commission to bring relief to civilians who suffered heavily through that war. And obviously, in World War II most of our territory was liberated by American forces, together with the British. And to me particularly it speaks volumes, because my father was a partisan in World War II, was cuffed by the Gestapo in 1942, and spent the next few years in Nazi concentration camps and he ended up being in Dachau at the end of the war and he was liberated by the 7th US Army. So had it not been for the US intervention, I would simply not be here. So the contribution to the alliance seems just logical and normal for us, and even so, our defense budget might not seem hutch in raw numbers. Participating in command defense is really essential for us. For example, we have sent F-16s above the skies of the Baltic states, just as a show of solidarity, for 20 years now, since the very first days they joined NATO. And currently we also have, on a rotation basis, soldiers on the ground in Lithuania together with the German armed forces, and in Romania together with the French armed forces. So all of that, of course, in the framework of NATO, to send the signal well, if you touch one of us, it’s paramount to touching all of us together. So that’s very important.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 11:23
When it comes to the European Union, we are very proud of that. We really believe that the European Union, being the second pillar of our foreign policy since World War II, is of an existential nature. So at last, I would say, europeans understood that waging war on each other was not a good idea. In 1945, europe was totally devastated, not only Germany, but also the countries that had been occupied. Britain, even Soviet had not been occupied, had also suffered heavily from the war, and so from that point on, we decided that it’s much better to work together rather than fight each other, and the fact that Belgium is now the seat of the institutions is certainly a pride for us.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 12:11
And we Belgians are always interested in going further in terms of integration with our neighbors and the whole democratic countries in Europe. Of course, we understand that not everybody wants to go forward at the same speed, but we have strong ideas, but we are also very pragmatic, so we better have everybody working together rather than just a few countries moving ahead. But when it is necessary we still can do it. You know that European integration is a bit differentiated. We have a single market for the member states, but not all member states participate in the euro currency, which is the single currency. Not everybody participates in the Schengen arrangement to cross borders easily, so we have also this kind of flexibility, which is why, probably, the EU is such a big success.
Cameron: 13:07
I think Americans maybe traveled to Europe in the past 20 years ago or more, were more accustomed to at that time. When was Schengen implemented? Do you remember?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 13:20
Well, the first agreement was actually outside the framework of the EU. It was in the late 80s and it was an agreement signed by a few countries just to make sure that we could go through borders in a very easy way. But it was so successful that it was extended to the European Union as such, but on a voluntary basis. So some countries are not part of it, like Ireland, for example. The UK also decided not to be a member of that zone when it was a EU member state. But on the the opposite side, a few other countries which are not members of the eu decided to participate in the sheen, and that’s particularly true for switzerland.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 14:00
You know, in my use, going to switzerland, um was uh always um difficult in terms of crossing the border. You could wait, uh, from five to 30 minutes, as they would ask you a lot of questions, and nowadays, from five to 30 minutes, as they would ask you a lot of questions, and nowadays what you just do? You stop, the custom officer would say okay and you go and it takes two seconds. So it’s a big, big difference and it also makes it easier when it comes to economic relationship.
Cameron: 14:28
Yeah, and I think that’s quite interesting to look back not that long ago when those elements were different, how it’s a shift in mindset. The common currency, free movement of not just people. I remember I would cross on a train from, say, italy to Switzerland and you have to have your passport stamped and do different things. I don’t remember the details. Now you see those customs crossing the border, crossing. It seems like they look 30 years old, they’re old-fashioned, you don’t think of them anymore. And the concept of getting a bill in guilders or pesetas or whatever you know, francs, those all in the past. It’s a mindset shift too that Europeans think and act more as a common market or even common commercially. That’s a big shift during that time period, isn’t it?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 15:14
Absolutely Definitely, and so I’m old enough to have lived through all this evolution, and sometimes we have to remind the young people that it was not that obvious at the time when it was decided, but it’s working fantastically well.
Cameron: 15:31
Yeah, and I think also for Americans. It’s hard for us to think of that. Our closest thing is, you know, crossing a border, a state line. You just drive right through it. And oftentimes, when I work with foreign companies, european companies are looking at their US market entry. They’ll ask me something like well, what’s the rule for this in the US? Or what are the guidelines, the regulations? And I’d say there’s not just one, there’s 50 of them. You need to think of each place. You’re going to be right and you’ve visited and toured and traveled extensively during your time as ambassador in the country. Tell us about some of those experiences that stand out for you as having lived here for four to five years, and what that was like on your travels.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 16:09
One thing that I was a bit aware of not to that extent is, for example, when I visited Hawaii and surprisingly, because, for example, in the Rotunda of Congress in Washington you have 100 statutes, because each state designates two statutes to represent the state and among these 100 persons actually there is only one foreigner, and this one foreigner is Belgian. And this fact is very little known, including in Belgium. It’s because it was the choice of the Hawaiians, and I was vividly reminded of this fact when I visited Hawaii, because the same man has his own statue in front of the state building in Honolulu. And the reason is it’s about Father Damien.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 16:58
He was born in Leuven in Belgium. He was a Catholic priest, he traveled to the United States in the 1860s and then decided to move on to Hawaii, where he arrived in 1870. And for 16 years he took care of people with leprosy and he lived with them. He arranged really a kind of a village on the peninsula on one of the islands, maui, and he’s reverbed as really a saint by the locals, mainly by the Hawaiian people, and I was really touched, moved by the appreciation the locals still demonstrate today towards Father Damien.
Cameron: 17:40
Oh, wow. I remember when I traveled to Hawaii, reading about the leper colonies there and some of the I guess it would be almost like a missionaries and mission, you know, relief providers coming. I didn’t know that Belgium had provided that relief. That’s fascinating.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 18:00
Yeah.
Cameron: 18:01
Oh, so I read that there are more than 2,300 foreign companies that have their European head office in Belgium. It’s a country as, as you mentioned, it lies right at the crossroads, and that goes all the way back to the time of, say, charlemagne. You know, not just from napoleon onward, but, um, what is belgium doing to attract all of that?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 18:25
you know, outward investment well, once again, I would say it’s something that is well known in attracting investment it’s location, location, location, location. It’s that we are at the heart of Europe. We are a country of 12 million people, but within a 200 miles radius you can reach out to 100 million people. You know, that’s the rural in Germany, that’s the Netherlands, that’s the Ile de France around Paris, and we also just two hours by train from London, so we are really in the center. Also, I think we are quite flexible in terms of culture because we ourselves are a state of three official languages Dutch is spoken by 60% of the population, french by close to 40% and under 1% speaks German.
Cameron: 19:12
But it means that we are quite flexible and we we feel um accustomed to the cultures of all our neighbors, and many people would speak english in addition to these languages right, it’s a very easy country to travel around within and and I can only remember a few times when I tried to speak english and it wasn’t the person didn’t not that they didn’t want to, but, you know, didn, didn’t, didn’t have that skill set. So then I shifted to French, for instance, but it’s it’s. It’s a very facile country and, because of your location, accustomed to being spending time in Netherlands, germany, france, whatever it may be, it’s part of everyday working life. Yeah, now that you’ve spent you’ve spent four plus years here in the US what are some things that you think that your countrymen could learn from the Americans as far as working and doing business?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 20:06
I think the emphasis on efficiency, which is important for all businesses. But we have a few cultural obstacles In Europe. Generally, I would say we do not look at business exactly the same way you do in the US, because we add other parameters. So, for example, for us it’s really important that it participates in a kind of overall balance in society, and social security, for example, is a big part of that balance, and that’s true for many European countries. That’s something that is not much of an issue here. In the United States you just concentrate on business to produce profits. States you just concentrate on business to produce profits, whereas in Europe the mentality is more it’s not just about producing profits, it’s also participating to an overall balance within society. So the business culture is a bit different. But I think that it’s appropriate for Belgium to do it that way and I understand that’s the normal way of doing business in the US and that’s something that we have to talk about to understand each other, because the way of doing business is slightly different.
Cameron: 21:22
Mm-hmm, and how could you know you return to Belgium or to Europe? What kind of tips advice would you share with people on that return about? Here’s some things that Americans are doing that is effective and I’ve seen work.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 21:40
Well, americans tend to be much more direct and fast forward, whereas Europeans tend to be sometimes a bit more cautious, reason a bit more, and Americans, when they see an opening, well, they just rush through the opening.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 22:00
But that’s also why it is so attractive, I would say, to many entrepreneurs from Europe, and from Belgium in particular, because it seems that the atmosphere is so initiative-friendly here in the United States and the market is big at once, right, whereas in Europe we have a single market but we still have a regulation for every member state.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 22:24
In some areas it’s not totally unified, but so it is not in the US either. So, for example, the age to drive a car is different from state to state, and just one example among many. So many Europeans do not realize that they are not acting just in the framework of the federal system in the US, but that the 50 states play a very important role in daily life, but also for business, and that’s actually part of our embassy to help them go through this process of adapting to the US market. But what is true is that, in terms of marketing, you can just use one single marketing strategy in the US, whereas in Europe it’s totally different. Even within Belgium, you would probably need at least two, because you have one in Dutch and one in French, and if you want to sell a product in Poland or in Italy, it’s not exactly the same culture either, so the European market might look a bit more complex to American business.
Cameron: 23:30
Does the American market look a little more simplistic from a European perspective, if you, if you turn that around, or is that a misperception?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 23:41
Actually, I think it’s a misperception because, for example, if you want to sell plastic bottles in California, now you can forget about it. It’s simply forbidden Right, which seems normal to many because we do care about pollution, waste and climate change In the US most of the case, no, but in California now it’s over. Now if you want to do business in Texas, probably regulation are much slower but it’s a totally different business environment, are much lower, but it’s a totally different business environment and many European businessmen when they first enter the US they do not realize these regional differences, if you want, between different states, because we have one single image of the US and not so much differentiated.
Cameron: 24:28
Right. And then the regional differences are huge, a country of 340 million.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 24:33
Yes, and the size of a continent.
Cameron: 24:36
Yeah, you do have more of a homogenous market. I feel you can get by here. When I was working in Europe, I remember we always had to think about the languages right from the outset. We make it in English and then we’ve got to work, not just translate it, but then localize it, adapt it to Dutch-speaking, french-speaking, whatever it might be. That’s a huge part of the equation that we don’t need to consider here. Correct? So it’s a more homogenous market. But that’s interesting about that experience of the differences an entrepreneur coming from Belgium may experience here. How does the Belgian state, the embassy, the consulate, the economic development officers, how do you help them?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 25:19
Well, we have two different roles. Belgium being a federal country, we are in charge, I would say, of business to government contact. So whenever there is a wish by a company to enter the market and they need local authorities or the federal administration, then the Federal Embassy of Belgium in Washington would support them. So mainly it’s on the basis of their request. When it comes to the regional trade attaché and we have three regions in Belgium they are in charge of business-to-business contact, but it’s more helping, I would say, middle-sized business, because the largest companies normally do not need public support.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 26:00
I can name, for example, solvay, which is a worldwide company, and I was surprised to learn when I arrived here that they actually have 29 plants in the United States. That’s quite a lot and you know that’s a very large chemical group. So these people have their own people to be in touch with American authorities at whatever level. But when it comes to medium-sized companies, then really the idea is to help this medium-sized business familiarize themselves with the local condition, make sure they can contact people not just from the authorities but from other business, the Chamber of Commerce and I would say it’s an introducing initiative by the regional attaches- yeah, and I think my experience has been that you Europeans have done a better job of funding, building and maintaining that support, that infrastructure.
Cameron: 26:59
It varies from country to country, but when I was spending time living in DC, the embassies have their own program. They have their development officers often spread across the country. With Belgium, each region is represented, so the three regions of Belgium have their own people embedded here in the US to help. I think the issue we had in this country was state budgets. It made sense let’s cut that budget. Do we really need someone full-time based in Mexico City? Do we really need somebody over in China? Let’s cut that.
Cameron: 27:28
It’s a bit short-sighted and that’s one of the differences between the two we mentioned earlier. The American society is much more consumer-focused, lower tax base, but we don’t fund a lot of those things. Education is another and I’ve found, not just with Belgium but the representatives here they’re in this country, they’ve been here for many years. They really have a strong program set up and the ability to help out. As you said, the multinationals don’t need it. Ambab doesn’t need help integrating to the US, but the mid-market size companies with the entrepreneurial mindset, those are the ones that the economic development officers are set up to help.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 28:07
Absolutely, and I visit a few Belgian businesses with new plants in North and Southern Carolina, for example. It’s quite a sizable investment for middle-sized business, but they’re very happy about it and we facilitate contact with local authorities to get the permits to make sure that all regulations are abided by, and some of them are tremendous success. I can name, for example, Lotus Bakeries. This name is probably not well-known in the US, but whenever you take a plane you might receive the biscuits on the plane.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 28:42
And actually that’s a Belgian product and now locally produced in the United States, in the Carolinas.
Cameron: 28:47
Wow. Another one is the busing company Van Hool I believe it’s called yes and again, you don’t spot it and recognize it every day, but you see them here and there and then you start to see more of them. You get an awareness of the presence of Belgian companies at consumer level beer and chocolate and some food products. Those are more visible and more evident. But I think there’s a lot of providers and services companies.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 29:14
The Belgian banking system is quite robust and if we were based in New York, a lot of the big belgian banks have a presence there and have been here for years and, and also something that is less visible for the, the public uh, for example, the number of researchers we have in in the medical sector, that it’s not by happenstance that we are so good to uh pharmaceutical industry. Um, we have very good universities and very high level researchers and, for example, when I visited Boston two years ago with the King’s sister, we met many of them and they specialize, for example, in oncology, so research about cancer, and as they move to Boston, some of the place in the US, either they stay here for their whole professional life or after two or three years they go back to Belgium. They can exchange experience and in the end, it’s also a lot about business, because the pharmaceutical industry is a very important business because it supports life.
Cameron: 30:16
Yeah, absolutely. And I think again, another difference to the education system there it’s built into the whole regime and the whole approach where people are going to go into post-secondary school and a university. An exceptional degree will not cost them a whole lot because it’s an investment in the future.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 30:35
Absolutely, and it is state funded. That explains also why our income tax, for example, is higher than the United States. Explain also why our income tax, for example, is higher than the United States. But if you go to university, the tuition fee in Belgium is $1,000 a year. You can easily make the difference. It’s what you have to pay here in the US.
Cameron: 30:52
Wow, I don’t want to hear those numbers when my kids start to get ready to apply. What do you see as the biggest barriers for Belgian entrepreneurs and innovators and small business owners looking to do business here in the US?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 31:07
Well, probably distance and also understanding the US consumer, because the US consumer does not exactly react the same way as European consumers. But we have also all these differences within Europe. You know, if you sell a product in Portugal, it’s not the same as selling it in consumers. But we have also all these differences within Europe. If you sell a product in Portugal, it’s not the same as selling it in Finland, if only because the conditions are quite different. But I would not say there are big obstacles. What I’m a bit worried about for the future is that the US is actually more protectionist than the European Union and if we see a further increase in that protectionism, that will certainly discourage further European interest in the US market and that would be a bit of a pity.
Cameron: 31:54
Interesting. We’ll know a lot more about that come this November, I suppose.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 32:00
Yes, but you know, but even before this election, we noticed a change since 2016,. But Biden coming to the White House in 2020 did not change a lot in terms of the average now spirit, in terms of protectionism, it’s higher than it used to be 10 years ago and that’s something we have to adapt to.
Cameron: 32:26
And it hasn’t gotten a lot of notice or coverage or mention. I have a client in the manufacturing space that is in Mexico and Mexico, because of the trade relationship, is exempt from those Chinese tariffs. That was a big advantage. But they thought, oh, new administration that could remove that advantage and that never happened. A lot of those tariffs are largely in place.
Cameron: 32:47
And how that evolves in the future. I think is going to be interesting. And you know Europe has its own protectionist and tariff and trade dispute issues, intellectual property theft and things that are unique to the European perspective. Unique to the European perspective.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 33:02
Well, for example, in terms of climate change, it’s clear that the politics and business of climate change is different in Europe, because it’s supported by maybe 90% of the voters. But we do have a debate which is not about whether we should do something, but what we should be doing and who is going to pay for it. That’s also a big debate, mike.
Cameron: 33:24
GREEN. Well, you’re right, it’s a settled argument there. I think you guys are generations ahead of where we are. A lot of those areas sustainability, climate change, renewables and I would love to work with more European companies who want to either come here and produce, to get a tax credit for doing so by way, and once they establish in the us, and get that, that tax credit, and then help and share that knowledge because, again, you’re so far ahead of where we are that we can benefit from those approaches in that mindset but I think there is also a reason for that.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 33:57
Um, um, and it’s it just size, ie that the territory of the European Union is smaller than the territory of the United States, and yet we have 450 million people on the same territory, so population density is much higher in Europe, in particular in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands. And so whenever you want to start a new economic activity, you have to take into account everything around you. Right, we do not have any deserts in Europe. It does not exist. And, for example, when it comes to nuclear power, it’s a big question what shall we do with nuclear waste? So and that’s the type of political debate we currently have in Belgium that’s a topic for the elections coming in June Should we keep nuclear plants, build new ones or get rid of them? But then, if we do, what should we build instead? So it’s a big debate.
Cameron: 34:52
Sure, sure. And then too, you’ve got on the European level, people voting for their local representatives, the prime minister or the head of their own country, as well as their representative to parliament, to the council. I mean, it’s just a whole different level of involvement and administration, I suppose.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 35:12
Well, at the Belgian level we have, I think, 13 different parties in parliament, so after elections we need quite a few months before we can establish a new coalition based on the results of the elections. But we are used to that, it’s normal practice for our democracy. We have that at federal level for the whole of Belgium. We also have it within the three different regions, which is Flanders, brussels and Malunia, and they do not always have the same coalition because the political trends are not the same in the three regions. But then each member state of the EU also sent one representative to the EU, one to the EU Commission and another one to the EU Council of Ministers, and they are there also to participate together in decision-making at EU level.
Cameron: 36:09
You spent a lot of time traveling and visiting around the US. What were some memorable experiences or visits or places you had? The visits you had in certain places you weren’t expecting the feelings you were going to have in those areas.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 36:23
Well, I would say, you know, I’ve known the US for more than 40 years now, so no real surprise, but certainly very nice to discover states I did not visit before that. Here is my cat, a fellow assistant.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 36:42
So I visited the Washington state, for example the region around Seattle. I also visited Arizona and Phoenix in particular, which is also a booming city. I just come back from a trip to Alaska, which might be a bit surprising for the Belgian ambassador, but actually the Arctic is becoming pretty important for all of us, not just for Arctic countries, for example, of course, in strategic terms, because all Arctic countries are NATO members save one, which is Russia, which has the largest portion around the Arctic. So that’s important also for us for security reasons. But you know, there might also be new economic routes, trade routes through the Arctic Sea, as there is obviously the impact of climate change, which is huge in a place like Alaska. And Belgium is actually also quite good in polar research, not concentrated on the Arctic. Historically we were concentrated in Antarctica and we’ve been in the place for more than a century now, and so we can also contribute to polar research based on our big experience in Antarctica.
Cameron: 37:53
Oh, wow, I didn’t realize that. Well, you mentioned Russia. I think you’re a fascinating person to speak with because you are ambassador to Russia and Federation, Armenia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and then to the United States. How do those experiences compare?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 38:10
Well, indeed quite different. For example, when it comes to diplomatic work in the US, the very interesting fact as a diplomat is that you can meet many, many people, especially in Washington. You could find an expert in almost any field within two hours and have a very candid conversation In Moscow. You must calibrate what you say in a much different way. Now I would say that there was a very positive surprise for me in Russia is that the Russians themselves are very nice people. They’re open. Also, I try to speak a bit their language. I’m not fluent in Russian, but meeting individuals in Russian or local groups has been a big pleasure.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 38:54
Now, of course, the big trouble in Russia is the political culture, and that’s a totally different planet from ours. The social contract is different. For example, as a Belgian civil servant, I’m educated to serve Belgian citizens and businesses. In Russia, that’s the opposite. The citizens are educated to serve the state.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 39:15
And I’m still struggling with this big contradiction where really many people I met in Russia were very nice people, but the political system is really autocracy. It’s arbitrary, it’s a total opposite of what we know, and it’s very difficult to reconcile the two aspects, and obviously, especially since the war in Ukraine started two years ago. Well, russia is a real threat and danger to all of us in Europe, and I think that we reacted accordingly, not just by providing support to Ukrainians or welcoming 9 million refugees from Ukraine, which is a big number, but also by making clear that Ukraine will be one of us. Ukraine is now a candidate country to the European Union. We know it’s going to be a challenge both for Ukrainians and for all other Europeans, but that’s how strong we feel about this country and the catastrophes that it’s facing now.
Cameron: 40:14
And I just think you know how’s that going to sit with Putin, how’s he going to react to it?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 40:18
That’s the thing that I Well, I would tell any Russian, you should not be surprised by this type of reaction. You know, putin might have expected that we would sit still and not do much. But to Belgians, like all other Europeans, invading your neighbor just to grab some territory and submit his people for us it’s part of another page in history. That was the early 20th century. We simply cannot accept it, and so whatever will be needed to support Ukraine and make clear that this type of behavior will not be a winner, we will do, and we understand that it involves a lot. But, for example, the EU and its countries have already spent $150 billion on supporting Ukraine, and that’s certainly only the start of it, especially if we want to include integrate Ukraine into the EU just in terms of an economic process. It’s also going to take a lot of money to help the country develop, but we can only have admiration for the resilience and the resistance of the Ukrainians.
Cameron: 41:30
I think about what’s happening now with Israel and Gaza. They talk about every attack or incursion the Israelis are making there. They’re creating the next bunch of people who are going to be joining Hezbollah or joining whatever. You think about the opposite of that in Ukraine. When we get to that point, the goodwill that Europe and America could help to build by rebuilding Ukraine, kind of like what happened after World War II yes.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 42:01
It’s going to involve a lot of money. I would say also reciprocal adaptation, but that’s something we were successfully doing with Eastern Europe for 20 years, so enlargement has been a big success for us. Now we will go one step further. It’s about Ukraine, Moldova, but also about the remaining countries in the Western Balkans. We know it’s going to cost a lot of money and efforts, but we strongly believe it’s worth it and you know, as a founding member of the European Union, we are very proud in what the EU has been achieving in the last decades.
Cameron: 42:39
OK, well, I’m going to ask you one last question, allows the case? Okay, well, I’m going to ask you one last question, but before that, I’m going to say thank you so much, ambassador Rejabo, for joining us on the show America Open for Business. It’s been fantastic to have you on the show and thank you so much for your time. You can catch our next episode coming up. Our website is yourb2bmarketingco. And, ambassador Rejabo, my question for you is when you are departing and returning to Europe in a few months, what suggestions or experiences or advice would you share with your successor?
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 43:16
See as many people as you can and especially travel outside Washington. Washington is a bit of a political bubble and you need to know people here in DC, but if you want to understand America, you have to visit as many other states as possible.
Cameron: 43:33
Okay, well, thank you so much for being on America Open for Business. I appreciate it very much.
Jean-Arthur Régibeau: 43:38
It was a pleasure, okay, merci bien, bye-bye.
Cameron: 43:39
Bye-bye, it was a pleasure. Okay, merci bien.
Narrator: 43:46
Bye-bye. Thanks for listening to the America Open for Business podcast. We’ll see you again next time and be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes. Thank you.
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