Finland and the United States currently have good relations. The United States recognized Finland on May 7, 1919 after it declared independence in 1917, and officially established diplomatic relations in 1920. Due to World War II and Soviet pressure, relations were suspended between 1942 and 1945 before being raised to embassy level in 1954. Finland has been of strategic importance to the United States due to its position bordering the Soviet Union and later Russia, and after the end of the Cold War in 1991 Finland's shift to the West has led to warmer relations. There is significant trade activity, including military procurement, between the two countries.
The United States supported Finland's NATO membership during Finland's accession into NATO, which was finalized on 4 April 2023, and later that year, the two countries entered into a Defense Cooperation Agreement. Currently, both countries are members of NATO and the Arctic Council. The United States is an observer of the BEAC and CBSS while Finland is a member of them.
In 2003, Anneli Jäätteenmäki, leader of the Centre Party, won the Finnish parliamentary election. During the campaign, she accused the incumbent Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, of aligning neutral Finland with the United States in the Iraq War following a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. This accusation was based on confidential foreign ministry documents that suggested Finnish cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition, which many Finns considered an illegal war of aggression. Lipponen denied the claims, affirming Finland's support for the United Nations and its Secretary-General.
Jäätteenmäki's government, formed after the election, lasted only 63 days. She resigned amid allegations that she had misled Parliament regarding the manner in which she obtained the leaked documents. Jäätteenmäki received the documents from President Tarja Halonen’s adviser, Martti Manninen. The scandal, widely referred to in Finland as the "Iraq leak".[3][4]
The number of travelers from the United States to Finland has been steadily increasing, amounting to between 200,000 and 380,000 visitors each year.[5]
In 2019, Finnish Air Force and USSPACECOM signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Finland and the United States on space situational awareness cooperation in Helsinki, Finland. These agreements foster openness, predictability of space operations, and transparency for space domain awareness.
On August 3, 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Finland and Sweden's accession bids to join NATO.[6] U.S. President Joe Biden approved the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden in August 2022.[7]
The agreement regulates the presence of the US armed forces and their dependents on the territory of the Finland, as well as the presence and activities of US suppliers on the territory of the Finland.[10]
President Joe Biden visited Helsinki on July 12, 2023 and met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and leaders of other Nordic nations, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The purpose was to celebrate Finland joining the NATO.[11][12][13]
During the second term of US PresidentDonald Trump, Finnish PresidentAlexander Stubb established a good personal rapport with Trump over their shared interest in golf, with the United States committing to purchase icebreakers from Finland in March 2025.[14] To this trust experts attributed the American invitation of the Finnish President to participate in talks at the August 2025 White House Multilateral Meeting on Ukraine, making Finland the only small country represented at the high-stakes summit in Washington alongside the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Ukraine, the EU, and NATO.[15][16]
The increasing importance of close relations between Finland and the United States was further evidenced by the announcement that a third meeting between Presidents Stubb and Trump - for the first time accompanied by Finnish Prime MinisterPetteri Orpo - was scheduled to take place over a two-day visit by Finnish officials to meet with American officials to discuss a variety of topics at the White House in October 2025.[17]
In 2024, the United States' share of Finland's exports was about 9.6% and of imports 5.0%, and the United States was Finland's third largest export country and sixth largest import country.[20]
Finland's exports to the U.S. in 2024 were around $10.1 billion, including chemicals, machinery (except electrical), petroleum and coal products, paper, and electronic products. Meanwhile, U.S. exports to Finland were about $4.5 billion, mainly oil and gas, electronics, chemicals, minerals, and transportation equipment.[21]
During 1975–2023 six presidents of the United States have visited Finland. Of them, George H. W. Bush visited Finland twice. Basic facts of these visits are given in the table below. In some cases, the table contains only the arrival date.[22]
Finland–United States relations on Arctic issues are strong. Addressing these issues is normally done through the Arctic Council, as both countries believe it to be the leading way of cooperation on Arctic issues.
The League of Finnish-American Societies (Finnish: Suomi-Amerikka Yhdistysten Liitto) is a non-profit organization promoting cultural exchange between countries which operates in Finland. It has around 30 chapters in Finland, e.g. those in Helsinki, Turku, Oulu and Kuopio.[29]
↑ "Finland - Market Overview". International Trade Administration - U.S. Department of Commerce. 2025-09-24. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
↑ Hämäläinen, Unto (13 July 2023). "Seitsemän vierailua Suomeen"[‘Seven visits to Finland’]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Sanoma. pp.A 8–10. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
Fields, Marek. "Reinforcing Finland's Attachment to the West: British and American Propaganda and Cultural Diplomacy in Finland, 1944-1962." (2015). Abstract
Golubev, Alexey, and Irina Takala. The Search for a Socialist El Dorado: Finnish Immigration to Soviet Karelia from the United States and Canada in the 1930s (MSU Press, 2014)
Hasan, Ali Ghafil. "US-Finland Economic Relations 1917-1945." Eurasian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 2 (2021): 28-34. online
Jakobson, Max. The diplomacy of the winter war: an account of the Russo-Finnish War, 1939-1940 (Harvard Univ Press, 1961.)
Rislakki, Jukka, "`Without Mercy': U.S. Strategic Intelligence and Finland in the Cold War," Journal of Military History, (Jan. 2015) 79#1 pp: 127–49.
Schwartz, Andrew J. America and the Russo-Finnish War (Public Affairs Press, 1960)
Wargelin Brown, K. Marianne. "Finnish Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp.137–151. online
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
