November 2026 Building Bridges to the U.S.A.

Monday, November 16, 2026 

Join us this year for Building Bridges to the U.S.A. at the Boijmans Depot in Rotterdam for an exclusive opportunity to learn more about expanding your business to the United States. Hosted by the U.S. Embassy, this event is tailored to connect Dutch companies with the United States, providing insights and networking opportunities to create valuable connections.

We are very excited to announce Maarten van Rossum, co-founder of &Fluence, as our opening speaker. Van Rossum is a former Dutch diplomat in Afghanistan and the U.S., guest lecturer at two U.S. universities, writer of the book Top Negotiators, and frequent tv-show guest as subject matter expert. Van Rossum will share his insights on negotiating with Americans as a Dutchman.

The two panels will provide practical insights for Dutch companies looking to expand to the United States, including scaleups and SME+ companies. You will receive a policy update, investment opportunities, how to work with federal and local government, incentives, access to capital, and more. 

We are also proud to have 17 U.S. States participating the event and you can schedule meetings with them in advance through the online portal. These meetings are useful to discuss your future investments or learn about incentive programs, local ecosystems, rules and regulations, and why you should consider expanding to their respective state. 

To register, please click on the registration button below. You will have to create a quick profile and please note that there is a vetting process in place. Please indicate that you will attend the Rotterdam, Netherlands event during your registration process. 

Program:

9:00 AM
Doors open and networking

9:45 AM
Start of plenary pession

• U.S. Embassy Welcome
  
• Fire side chat with Maarten van Rossum, Guest speaker and co-founder of &Fluence
  How to negotiate with American companies. 
• Panel Discussion: Bridge the gap
  Topics: U.S. expansion, Fundraising, U.S. policy update
  By: Becker Lawyers, Prager Metis, TABS Inc.
• Panel Discussion: Building in the USA
  Topics: Site selection, permits and regulation, build your team
  By: Evans Group, Bank of America
• SelectUSA: U.S. Government support to grow your company
  By: SelectUSA
• 17 states will give one-minute ptiches highlighting their states 
  

  Participating States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin.

12:15 PM
State Networking Lunch with pre-scheduled online matchmaking

2:00 PM
Close

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Contact:
Philip Hammerstein, U.S. Embassy
philip.hammerstein@trade.gov

Location:
Depot van Boijmans en Van Beuningen
Museumpark 24, Rotterdam

Parking:
We recommend to pre-book your parking at Parkeergarage Museumpark Rotterdam to secure your parking spot and have a better rate. More information here.