Speaking in Germany on Tuesday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker backed a new trade agreement being pursued by the United States and the European Union.
The GOP governor and all-but-certain presidential candidate spoke about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership while visiting the Hannover Messe trade show, part of a three-country trip to Western Europe. The trip, which includes first lady Tonette Walker, comes as Walker seeks to bolster his foreign affairs credentials.
The Associated Press reported that Walker told his German audience that young Americans and Europeans would benefit from the still incomplete trade deal, which both sides have been negotiating since 2013. The deal could become one of the biggest trade agreements of all time, but it faces concerns over environmental, consumer and cultural issues.
"Their generation will ultimately grow stronger, I believe, when we approve a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership," Walker said, referencing his two college-age sons, Matt and Alex.
In recent months, the governor has hired foreign policy advisers within his political operation and started speaking out frequently on international issues such as President Barack Obama's nuclear arms deal with Iran. Walker met recently with the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and traveled in February to Great Britain. He'll visit Israel in May.
The trip to England, and this latest one to Hannover, Germany; Bilbao, Spain; and Montpellier, France, are official trade missions that are being paid for by state taxpayers. The six-day visit to London by Walker, his security detail, four officials from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and state business executives cost the state $138,200.
This week's 22-member delegation to Western Europe includes leaders from WEDC, the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development organization, the Water Council and seven private businesses. No costs have been released yet on this trip.
In addition to the speech at Messe, Walker joined in signing a collaboration agreement Monday between University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers and representatives of DZNE, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, who together will research diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Walker also met with Stephan Weil, the prime minister of the German state of Lower Saxony, to discuss opportunities for economic development collaboration with Wisconsin. The governor also spoke with Joachim Janssen, the chief executive officer of the Viessmann Group, which has been involved in projects in Wisconsin to turn methane from manure into electricity through its Madison subsidiary, BIOFerm Energy Systems of Madison.
In Spain, Walker will hold a roundtable discussion about business opportunities in Wisconsin for more than 20 Spanish companies, and in Paris will participate in another discussion hosted by the French-American Foundation.
So far, the governor has not taken questions from European or American media about the trip, but he is expected to hold a conference call with Wisconsin reporters on Thursday.
Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick has not said whether the February trip to London had resulted in more investment or jobs in Wisconsin so far, but the administration pointed to multiple meetings with companies in Great Britain such as GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical giant, and Fords Packaging Systems.
After Walker's 2013 trip to China, the Wisconsin Ginseng Board and Chinese medicine firm, TRT, signed an agreement to buy more than $200 million in Wisconsin ginseng. Wisconsin's total exports have jumped by 18% since Walker took office, she said.
Headed to New Hampshire
In another sign of Walker's likely presidential run, he is expected to cut his participation in this week's trip short to join other GOP contenders for political events over the weekend in the key early primary state of New Hampshire. Walker will serve as the keynote speaker for the Republican Leadership Summit in Nashua on Saturday and meet with other Republicans from the state, including U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte.
Walker, who also has visited Japan as governor, originally presented the Israel trip as a potential trade mission, which would have made it taxpayer-funded. It is now being paid for instead by his presidential campaign in waiting, Our American Revival.
Wisconsin governors, including Democrat Jim Doyle, have periodically traveled abroad for trade missions, but Walker's travel is getting added scrutiny with his higher profile and the focus on his limited international experience.
The Journal Sentinel has spotlighted past travel by Wisconsin governors and their appointees, including a December 2010 trip by Doyle to Cancun. Taxpayers did not have to pay for Doyle's travel to that United Nations climate change conference, but did pay for Doyle's policy adviser and two security staff.
Doyle's Commerce Secretary Jack Fischer resigned in 2008 after the Journal Sentinel reported on $21,300 in expenses for himself and his administrative assistant on three overseas trade missions.
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