Finland–U.S. relations

Finland and the U.S. are partners in trade, technology, science, and security. The cooperation deepened further in 2023 when Finland joined the NATO defense alliance and signed a bilateral defense agreement with the United States.

The Finnish-U.S. security and defense cooperation has expanded in the past few years. Finland became a NATO member in April 2023, establishing an official alliance with the U.S. The countries signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in December 2023. The DCA provides an up-to-date framework for Finnish-U.S. collaboration and the possibility for the presence of U.S. troops during all security situations.

Close and active trade relations

The U.S. is the single most important trade partner for Finland. Finland’s main exports to the U.S. include transportation equipment, chemical products, paper products, and machinery, highlighting Finland’s expertise in maritime economy, energy, connectivity and bioeconomy. Science and technology cooperation between Finland and the United States has been strengthened in areas such as quantum and high-performance computing, advanced communication networks and other emerging disruptive technologies.

Finland also has partnership agreements with Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Washington.  The aim of the state cooperation is to support Finnish companies and research organizations entering the U.S. market and American entities establishing a presence in Finland.

Cooperation from international organizations to travel

The U.S. and Finland also collaborate in international organizations. These include memberships in the Arctic Council, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization.

There are significant cultural ties between Finland and the U.S. There are approximately 650,000 people with Finnish ancestry living in the U.S. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018) The Finnish diaspora lives mainly in the Midwest, namely Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Florida and Washington.

The amount of U.S. travelers to Finland is growing and ranges between 200,000 and 380,000 visitors annually (Statistics Finland).