Published On: December 23, 2025
Category: Business Formation
When tensions rise between nations and diplomatic channels strain, there exists a powerful force for stability that often goes unrecognized: everyday businesses engaged in international trade.
This is citizen diplomacy—the quiet revolution happening in conference rooms, trade missions, and business partnerships around the world. Right here in Colorado, small and mid-sized businesses are demonstrating how commerce can build bridges when official channels falter.
The Denver-Munich Connection: Business Diplomacy in Action
In late April 2025, I joined a Denver delegation to Munich, Germany, as part of the groundbreaking Denver-Munich City2City agreement. Alongside my colleague Paul Maricle, former Honorary Consul for Germany, and business leaders from across the Front Range, we experienced firsthand how commerce creates connections that transcend politics.
The City2City agreement, signed in November 2024, offers eligible businesses from both cities access to local networks, free or discounted workspaces for up to three months, and—most importantly—relationships built on mutual economic interest rather than political alignment.
Munich and Denver share remarkable similarities: similar elevations, gateway positions to spectacular mountain regions, thriving aerospace industries, and cultures valuing innovation and quality of life. But what truly binds them is not geography—it is the thousands of daily transactions, partnerships, and collaborations between businesses that see opportunity where politicians see complications.
When Governments Clash, Businesses Connect
We live in an era of trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty. Alliances shift. Tariffs fluctuate. Diplomatic relationships cool and warm with political seasons. Yet businesses continue doing what they do best: solving problems, creating value, and building relationships based on trust and mutual benefit.
This is not naive optimism—it is pragmatism. When a Colorado manufacturer partners with an Austrian engineering firm, they are creating economic interdependencies that make conflict less likely and cooperation more valuable. They are building relationships that survive political transitions and demonstrating that shared prosperity is more durable than shared ideology.
Consider Colorado’s relationship with Niederöstereich (“Lower Austria”), where Colorado Lieutenant Governor, Dianne Primavera, and Lower Austria Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner signed a Memorandum of Understanding focused on green technology, digitalization, and advanced manufacturing. This was not driven by federal foreign policy—it emerged from recognition that both regions face similar challenges in climate adaptation and economic development.
The Outsized Impact of Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises
Here is what surprises people: 87% of Colorado companies that export are small- and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees. These are not Fortune 500 giants—they are businesses like yours.
Yet these SMEs generated 27.2% of Colorado’s total goods exports in 2023, contributing to our $10.5 billion in annual exports. They are conducting citizen diplomacy every single day.
What makes SMEs particularly effective as bridge-builders? They are flexible enough to seize opportunities quickly. When a business owner meets with a Munich-based partner, they represent themselves, their employees, and their communities—that personal stake creates genuine relationships. Small businesses build enterprises meant to last generations, naturally aligning with the patience international partnerships require.
What This Means for Your Business
The Denver-Munich City2City agreement and Colorado-Lower Austria MOU offer real benefits: workspace access in Munich, connections to local business networks, and pathways for collaboration in green technology and advanced manufacturing.
But the principle matters more than specifics. When you engage in international trade, you are building resilience through diversified markets and supply chains, gaining competitive advantage by demonstrating global capability, accelerating innovation through exposure to different markets, and creating economic relationships that maintain continuity even when political relationships sour.
The Practical Path Forward
How do Colorado businesses get started?
Leverage existing frameworks. The German American Chamber of Commerce – Colorado Chapter has facilitated Germany-Colorado trade since the 1990s. The Baviarian Guild was recently created to foster meaningful transatlantic relationships between Bavaria specifically and the Rocky Mountain Region. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade offers consulting and grants for international expansion.
Start with relationships, not transactions. Trade missions like our Denver-Munich delegation create opportunities to build trust before signing contracts. The best international partnerships begin with curiosity and relationship-building.
Think regionally. Germany represents one of the world’s largest economies. Austria’s position at Europe’s crossroads offers unique access to both Eastern and Western markets. Both share Colorado’s commitment to environmental sustainability and technological innovation.
Commerce as Peacemaking
Lantz Law Group is involved in international business law because commerce is one of the most powerful forces for peace and prosperity. While we predominately represent in-bound businesses coming to Colorado, our personal connections with German and Austrian businesses along with other countries allows us to understand your situation and help find resources for you. When a Colorado aerospace manufacturer has customers in Munich, when a German engineering firm has suppliers in Denver, when Austrian and Colorado institutions collaborate on clean energy—these relationships create advocates for reasonable policy and peaceful dispute resolution.
This is not naive faith in trade solving all problems. It is recognizing that the daily work of business—building relationships, honoring commitments, solving problems collaboratively—creates social capital that makes cooperation possible even in difficult times.
Your Role in This Story
Every international contract you negotiate, every foreign partner you visit, every supply chain you establish—these actions weave a web of interdependence that makes the world more connected and stable.
Colorado exported a record $10.5 billion in goods in 2024. Behind that number are thousands of businesses that chose to think beyond borders, to build bridges rather than walls, to see foreign markets as opportunities for mutual benefit.
The question is not whether small businesses can make a difference. They already are. The question is whether you will join them.
The tools exist. The frameworks are in place. The opportunities are real. What is required is willingness to think bigger than your current market and recognize that business success and international cooperation are not separate goals—they are two sides of the same coin.
In an uncertain world where official diplomacy sometimes fails, building commercial bridges becomes essential. Small and mid-sized businesses, precisely because they are nimble, authentic, and relationship-driven, are uniquely positioned to lead.
Your business can be part of that story. The only question is: what will you do next?
Interested in exploring international opportunities in Germany, Austria, or other markets? Lantz Law Group helps Colorado businesses navigate the legal and strategic complexities of global commerce. Let us talk about building the bridges your business needs to thrive.
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