The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) will organise a Latvian business trade mission to the United States from 20 to 28 September, with the main business events taking place during President Edgars Rinkēvičs’ working visit from 24 to 27 September. The programme will cover New York, Los Angeles and San Diego, focusing primarily on defence and dual-use technologies, biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, start-ups and the film industry.
The trade mission aims to help Latvian companies establish new contacts with potential customers, partners and investors, promote high-value-added exports and technological cooperation, and strengthen their positions in one of the world’s largest and most competitive markets.
“Latvia’s exports of goods and services to the United States exceeded €1 billion in 2025, demonstrating that our companies can compete in one of the world’s most demanding markets. We must now raise our ambitions and expand Latvia’s presence in sectors where we possess competitive expertise, technologies and products. The United States is a strategically important economic partner for Latvia, and the President’s visit adds further weight to Latvia’s economic interests in this market. A stronger presence in the United States means more high-value-added exports and a more resilient Latvian economy,” emphasised Economics Minister Viktors Valainis.
United States: An Export Market Worth More Than €1 Billion
The United States is one of Latvia’s most important economic partners outside the European Union. Trade in goods and services between Latvia and the United States reached €1.63 billion in 2025, increasing by 13% year on year and making the United States Latvia’s ninth-largest foreign trade partner. Latvia’s exports to the United States rose by 2% to €1.01 billion, while the positive trade balance amounted to €395.9 million. The United States was Latvia’s eighth-largest export market.
Exports of services are particularly significant. They increased by 10% in 2025 to €510 million, making the United States Latvia’s fifth-largest services export market. Information and communication technology services accounted for €206 million, or 40.4% of Latvia’s services exports to the United States.
The latest figures show that services export growth continued in 2026. In the first quarter, Latvia’s services exports to the United States reached €110 million, an increase of 9% year on year, while the services trade surplus amounted to €54 million. This underlines the importance of the US market for Latvia’s knowledge-intensive services exports.
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, accumulated US direct investment in Latvia amounted to €443 million, while Latvia’s accumulated direct investment in the United States stood at €77 million.
“A good product alone is not enough in the US market—you need to reach the decision-makers and build trust over time. Our task is to bring Latvian companies together with potential customers, partners and investors to discuss concrete opportunities for cooperation. The programme has been tailored to the companies’ interests, so every meeting has a clear objective. The real measure of this mission’s success will be export deals, joint technology projects and investment,” said LIAA Director Ieva Jāgere.
Programme Includes Meetings with Companies, Investors and Research Centres
During the US trade mission, representatives of Latvian companies in defence and dual-use technologies, biomedicine, pharmaceuticals and the film industry, as well as members of the start-up ecosystem, are scheduled to meet internationally significant US companies and organisations in their respective fields. The film industry programme includes meetings with Paramount and Disney; defence and dual-use technology companies will meet Anduril, Shield AI and Qualcomm; and technology and biomedical companies will meet Illumina, Element Biosciences and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Discussions involving defence and dual-use technology companies will focus on incorporating Latvian technologies into joint solutions, developing new products and enabling Latvian companies to join US supply chains.
Visits are also planned to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Latvian delegation is scheduled to meet representatives of UCLA’s Technology Development Group, the University of California San Diego’s Office of Innovation and Commercialisation, and San Diego State University’s Technology Transfer Office to discuss the commercialisation of research results, technology transfer and cooperation between universities and companies. Meetings with investors are also planned.
The programme includes sector-specific roundtable discussions, visits to companies and research institutions, start-up presentations and individual business meetings. A networking event between representatives of Latvia’s start-up ecosystem and US investors is planned in New York. Companies will be able to present their solutions and receive feedback on their development prospects in the US market. A meeting with representatives of the Latvian diaspora is scheduled for 26 September.
“SAF Tehnika regularly participates in LIAA-organised trade missions to the United States because they allow us to meet senior executives from partner and customer organisations and strengthen our company’s reputation. During this September’s mission to California, for example, we will meet the senior management of a major US semiconductor manufacturer together with Riga Technical University. Opportunities provided by LIAA produce results only when a company has done its homework and can state precisely whom it wants to meet and what it wants to achieve. If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there,” said Jānis Bergs, Member of the Management Board and Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at SAF Tehnika, commenting on the importance of trade missions.
LIAA organises participation in overseas trade missions under the European Union co-financed programme for the development of innovative entrepreneurship among small and medium-sized enterprises. The programme is supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the Latvian state. Companies may participate in a trade mission either for a fee or with support covering eligible expenses.
