DAVOS — In her fifth international trip within a year, Governor Whitmer participated in events at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the Democratic governor joined “world leaders” to “tell Michigan’s story” on a range of issues including electric vehicles, innovation, workforce skills and manufacturing.

Whitmer took part on Tuesday in a panel discussion examining whether electric vehicles are “truly capable of dominating” the global market. The following day, she joined another panel alongside several other U.S. governors, before holding a manufacturing-focused press conference with Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

During her visit to Switzerland, Whitmer met with senior executives, investors and industry leaders “to showcase Michigan’s competitive advantages and build relationships that can translate into jobs and long-term investments in the state,” according to her office.

The trip was funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) — a nonprofit organization that raises money from some of Michigan’s largest companies to support Whitmer’s travel and the state’s investment-recruitment efforts. Companies represented on the MEDC’s board received about $2.2 billion in economic development incentives from Whitmer’s administration in 2024 alone.

Whitmer conducted four international trade missions in 2025, visiting Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland; the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and Japan, Singapore and Germany. In 2024, she traveled to Spain, Taiwan and South Korea. In 2023, she visited Japan, Norway, Austria, Latvia and Switzerland, where she also attended the Davos conference that year.

Whitmer’s international travel — as she enters her eighth and final year as governor — has drawn sustained criticism from Republicans in Lansing.

In a social media post following the announcement of the Switzerland trip, Republican lawmakers accused the Democratic governor of abandoning her “New Year’s resolution” to improve student reading outcomes.

The Michigan Senate Republican caucus posted on X, “Just 19 days into the new year, the governor is heading to a Swiss resort.”

In response, Quentin Messer Jr., CEO of the MEDC, defended the trade missions, saying the trips allow state officials to present Michigan’s strategy directly to business leaders in key markets.

“As federal policy continues to focus on accelerating foreign direct investment in the United States,” Messer said, “Michigan’s presence in Switzerland and at the World Economic Forum is aimed at turning relationships into tangible results for employers, workers and communities.”