On October 6th, Norway’s minority center-left coalition government formed by the Labor and Center Parties presented its proposal for the 2023 National Budget. Less Government Pension Fund spending, changes in income tax, continued electricity subsidies, and strengthening of National security are some of the notable features.
AmCham Norway and Hill+Knowlton Norge have summarized the proposed budget with the international focus of AmCham members in mind.
Read report here: https://bit.ly/3RYJazE
President Biden signed an Executive Order on Enhancing Safeguards for United States Signals Intelligence Activities (E.O.) directing the steps that the United States will take to implement the U.S. commitments under the European Union-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-U.S. DPF) announced by President Biden and European Commission President von der Leyen in March of 2022.
Transatlantic data flows are critical to enabling the $7.1 trillion EU-U.S. economic relationship. The EU-U.S. DPF will restore an important legal basis for transatlantic data flows by addressing concerns that the Court of Justice of the European Union raised in striking down the prior EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework as a valid data transfer mechanism under EU law.
The White House is expected to publish its long-awaited executive order on transatlantic data transfers next week, according to three officials with knowledge of the matter.
The order is designed to address European concerns over surveillance practices in the United States and may be signed by President Joe Biden and then published as early as October 3, one of the officials said.
As part of the upcoming announcement, the White House declaration is expected to work in conjunction with new U.S. Department of Justice regulations used to oversee American national security agencies, according to Peter Swire, a former Bill Clinton administration chief counselor for privacy and current professor at Georgia Tech, whose work has formed part of the legal basis for the leading framework of the new Privacy Shield.
(Bloomberg) — Record exports of Norway’s Johan Sverdrup crude oil are set to help meet European refineries’ needs as a deadline to phase out Russian supplies draws closer.
Loadings from the huge Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea, operated by Norway’s Equinor ASA, will rise to 587,000 barrels a day in November, according to a program seen by Bloomberg. That compares with an average of 500,000 barrels a day in the first three quarters of this year.
The European Union’s planned sanctions on Russian seaborne crude are due to come into force in early December. While refineries have reduced the purchases of Russia’s Urals crude markedly since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, they still imported about 840,000 barrels a day of the flagship grade last month, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
Orkla Food Ingredients (“OFI”) has entered into an agreement to purchase 84% of the shares in Denali Ingredients, which is a leading ice cream ingredients business in the USA. The purchase price on a 100% and cash and debt free basis is USD 200 million, equivalent to NOK ~2.2 billion.
Denali Ingredients has seen strong organic growth of more than 10% p.a. over the past 15 years. The company is headquartered in Wisconsin, where it carries out manufacturing at two facilities and has 160 employees in total.
“The acquisition of Denali Ingredients is a significant and natural step for OFI into the market for ingredient solutions for the US ice cream industry. The food ingredients sector is fragmented with significant potential for further consolidation and growth. Based on these opportunities we will now initiate a process to seek a long-term partner for OFI to accelerate growth and value creation.” says Nils K. Selte, President and CEO of Orkla.
Norwegian startup stakeholders met this week during Oslo Innovation Week to discuss how to scale impactful solutions and overcome bottlenecks in order to stay ahead in the climate tech game.
The Oslo Innovation Week is a collaboration between public and private, startup organisations and corporates, local and global companies. The conference has since 2005 been supported by the City of Oslo, with the aim of bringing sustainable business solutions to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
According to the data aggregator website Datawrapper, Norway is the country with the lowest vulnerability to climate change, while being the most skilled at managing to protect itself from dire climate disasters. This can imply climate mitigation policies and initiatives, but also to increase investment to finding technological solutions to avert climate change.
The Commission was appointed by Royal Decree on 3 September 2021 to examine which international economic and political developments may be of relevance to the Government Pension Fund Global some years into the future, as well as their potential implications for the management of the Fund. The Commission is hereby submitting its report. Its recommendations are unanimous.
More information and report here.
I en rekke møter denne uken har forsvarsministeren diskutert USA og Norges langvarige og gode samarbeid. -Vi står i en spesiell sikkerhetspolitisk situasjon og vi ønsker å videreutvikle det tette samarbeidet vårt, sier forsvarsminister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp).
Forsvarsministeren har møtt sentrale amerikanske beslutningstakere under sitt besøk til USA. Flere tema har vært tatt opp.
Klima- og miljøminister Espen Barth Eide tok sammen med USA initiativ til å danne en ny allianse mot miljøkriminalitet under et møte i New York i USA denne uka. Miljøkriminalitet er en av de største ulovlige økonomiene i verden. De som står bak, er ofte mektige aktører som opererer gjennom selskaper og kriminelle nettverk og profitterer stort på ødeleggelse av natur.
– Vi må øke innsatsen betydelig for å stoppe kriminelle aktører som bryter nasjonale og internasjonale lover i jakten på penger. Tusenvis av arter, skog- og havområder, urfolk og lokalsamfunn bærer kostnadene av deres handlinger. Disse ulovlighetene forårsaker stor skade og truer natur vi ønsker å ta vare på, sier klima- og miljøminister Espen Barth Eide.
Dear Esteemed Members & Partners –
In my many post-summer interactions with AmCham member company leaders, I am often struck by the pragmatism conveyed as related to change. Constant, unyielding and often painful, change seems to be at the forefront of your agendas, now more than ever.
During Arendalsuka, we learned that patient access to cutting-edge healthcare solutions requires a reboot (read “change”) of current procurement mindsets. Enhanced public-private collaboration is a lofty goal, but real-world programs like CONNECT – along with innovations from AbbVie, Cisco, Microsoft and others – are how we are going to make a lifesaving difference for Norwegian patients.
In Stavanger, together with Ambassador Marc Nathanson, we championed bilateral energy technology collaboration – in the Houston Pavilion – during a dizzying ONS week focused upon energy security and transition.
Jason Turflinger
One week later, we were curtly informed that Norway’s Houston Consulate will be closed in 2023. The change is “intended to enable the Foreign Service to provide better assistance to Norwegian companies.” We and our friends in Texas and Stavanger will need help in understanding the Foreign Ministry’s changed strategic priorities and US regional focus going forward.
Energy pricing, both domestically and for Norway’s gas exports to Europe – has become what may be the current government’s defining issue. AmCham’s energy intensive member industries are of course impacted, but are generally scaled to adjust and adapt. Norwegian Continental Shelf assets, on the other hand, are produced by Norwegian and international companies. Any government led change initiatives to stabilize NCL gas prices must include input from all relevant stakeholders.
As I write this letter, Governor Jay Inslee and his Washington State trade delegation are busily making their way to meetings in Oslo, Horten, Trondheim, Ålesund and elsewhere. The first of many post-pandemic US trade delegations to come, Washington delegates are focused on change-enabling partnerships in Norway – especially within “energy, technology, sustainability and improvements to correctional facilities.”
Prime Minister Støre and Defence Minister Gram are also currently on transatlantic tour, as were Stortinget’s Finance and Public Administration Committees recently. US-Norway security, energy and climate change policies are being coordinated and adapted to changing geopolitical realities.
Looking ahead, our change-laden AmCham community will happily have multiple Q4 opportunities to meet and exchange via our Mentorship Program, Financial Forum, Sustainability Forum, Rising Leaders Program, and multiple working groups. Of note, and on the subject of imminent change, please join our US Midterm Election briefing with White House Correspondent Jon Decker on October 24th. Do also register soon for our annual Thanksgiving Charity Dinner on November 22nd. Seats for the latter are limited and will shortly be fully subscribed.
Since the summer break and continuing over the coming weeks, my colleagues and I will be reaching out to many of you for in-person updates on how your transatlantic companies are adapting and preparing for the precarious road ahead. Common, cross-industry themes and challenges are already apparent – both persisting and new. Our work together continues in earnest!
