This month, I traveled to Germany with foreign business experts from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation on this administration’s first investment mission. In four days, we met with and made presentations to nearly 50 German automotive, biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

Our goal in Germany was to help convince those German companies who are currently doing business in Michigan to expand their investment and to encourage those not yet located in the state to include it in their growth plans

I chose Germany for our first investment mission because our two countries share a common major industry: automobiles. We believe that the many German auto suppliers, engineering firms and research and development companies should choose Michigan when they’re choosing a site for their North American operations. And, as the automotive industry expands into new, high-tech fields, we believe Michigan is perfectly poised to capitalize on that growth—from both foreign and domestic companies—as well.

To grow Michigan’s economy, I believe we must focus on attracting those high-tech, high-growth industries that will drive our 21st century economy: advanced automotive technology and engineering, life science development and homeland security technology. These sectors are critical to our state’s growth; either as stand-alone industries or industries that support the automobile economy.

Germany is already Michigan’s largest foreign investor and European trade partner. We’ve seen significant investments by German automotive suppliers in recent months, including Eberspächer, Mahle, Karmann Manufacturing, ZF Lemforder and Behr. Many of the new facilities and expansions have been won in head-to-head contests with other states because Michigan has been aggressive about strategically targeting these high-growth firms and because we’ve not wavered in our commitment to make Michigan a competitive place to do business. Trade between our two countries totals more than $2.5 trillion each year and results in $31 billion for this state’s economy annually.

Attracting more of that foreign business to our peninsulas is critical. It’s part of a six-point strategy I outlined in August to develop our automotive industry in Michigan and it’s part of a plan to help bring more investment—and more jobs—to Michigan overall.