 | |
 Netherlands |  United States |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Dutch Embassy, Washington, D.C. | United States Embassy, The Hague |
| Envoy | |
| Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar | Ambassador Marcus Micheli |
Diplomatic relations between theNetherlands and theUnited States started in 1776 with thefirst salute at St. Eustatius's Fort Oranje and continues to this day as one of the oldest continual bilateralalliances in thewestern world.[1] Today they are described as "excellent" by theUnited States Department of State[2] and "close" by theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.[3] Founding members of theNorth Atlantic Alliance and allies sinceJohn Adams's visit to the Netherlands in 1782, it is considered one of the strongest military and economic alliances incontemporary history.[4]
TheUnited States and theNetherlands work together both bilaterally and multilaterally in such institutions as theUnited Nations,World Trade Organization, theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as within theEuropean Union to advance the shared US goal of a more open and market-ledworld economy and militarily in the context of theNorth Atlantic Treaty.
As the two nations were never at war or in serious conflict U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan referred to the alliance in 1982 as "the longest unbroken, peaceful relationship that we have had with any other nation."[5] In 2011 U.S. PresidentBarack Obama reaffirmed that "we have no stronger ally than the Netherlands".[6] In 2018 U.S. PresidentDonald Trump remarked that "the relationship with the Netherlands has never been better than it is now".[7] The two countries have been allies in recent decades inmilitary,anti-terrorism,anti-piracy andpeacekeeping missions. They are also the third largest (from the Netherlands to the United States) and largest (from the United States to the Netherlands) direct foreign investors in each other's economies.
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TheUnited States of America and theKingdom of the Netherlands have been close allies since the United States became asovereign nation with thetreaty of Paris after theAmerican Revolutionary War and have kept unbrokenbilateral ties since.
Starting in the late16th century, theDutch and other Europeans began to colonize the eastern coast of North America. The Dutch named their territoryNew Netherland, which became a colony of theDutch Republic in 1624. TheDutch colonial settlement ofNew Amsterdam later became New York City. The present-dayflag of New York City is based on the flag of Republic of the United Netherlands.[8] Following theAct of Abjuration the newly independentDutch Republic quickly rose to power as a major naval power during theDutch Golden Age. Although primarily focused on the East,New Amsterdam and other Dutch colonies inthe Americas quickly rose to significant importance for theDutch West India Company. After the conclusion of theSecond Anglo-Dutch War with theTreaty of Breda theDutch Republic did not press its claim onNew Netherland ending formal Dutch colonization ofAmerica.
In the18th century theDutch republic supported theThirteen Colonies duringAmerican Revolution from the outset as it was still embroiled in disputes with theBritish Empire overnaval supremacy. Dutch merchants sold many goods to the American rebels, which helped theThirteen Colonies gain independence from theBritish Empire.[9] Nearly 4,000tons ofgunpowder was sent by the Dutch in the first half of 1775 alone, many more followed in the next years. The Dutch merchants also provided daily shipments of goods to the American Rebels.[10] Gunpowder was not the only thing they supplied them with; the Dutch also supplied the American Rebels with weapons, includingmuskets and Dutch long-arms, andtulips.[11] In 1780John Adams was able to secure a $2 million loan from theDutch Republic which was vital in funding the revolutionary war.[12] Some historians even argue that without theDutch helping the American rebels, the outcome of theAmerican Revolutionary War might have been a British victory.[13]
Though the action was disavowed by the government of the Netherlands, on November 16, 1776, the fort atSt. Eustatius gave the first formal salute (firing its guns nine times) to a ship flying the American flag.[14] After thepilgrims had lived and worked inLeiden, manyfounding fathers advocated for a diplomatic mission to the Netherlands.[15] On 19 April 1782,John Adams was received by theStates General inThe Hague and recognized asMinister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America. By doing so, it became the second foreign country to recognize the United States[16] (after France on February 6, 1778).[17] The house that Adams purchased in The Hague became the first American embassy in the world.[18] Historically the support and friendship offered by theDutch people to then ambassadorJohn Adams in support of his petition to theStates General to defeat theBritish Empire during theRevolutionary War is seen as the start of the unbrokenalliance between the Netherlands and the United States.
Dutch officers inSumatra (then part of theDutch East Indies) assisted theU.S. Navy during theFirst andSecond Sumatran Expeditions in 1832 and 1838 respectively. Both operations werepunitive expeditions, carried out against Chiefdom ofKuala Batee after the crews of U.S. merchant ships were massacred by the nativeMalays.
In 1861–63 theLincoln administration looked abroad for places to relocate freed slaves who wanted to leave the United States. It opened U.S. negotiations with the Dutch government regarding African American migration and colonization of the Dutch colony ofSuriname inSouth America. Nothing came of the idea, and after 1864 the idea was dropped.[19]
U.S. and Dutch soldiers fought together during theSiege of the International Legations, part of the largerBoxer Rebellion inChina.
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The Netherlands was steadfastly neutral in the late 19th and early 20th century trading with everyone but avoiding alliances. In foreign affairs it build up its overseas empire especially in the Dutch East Indies (nowIndonesia). Neutrality did not stop theGerman invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. TheDutch government in exile remained allied to the United States and Dutch troops fought side by side with American troops in various theaters including thePacific andEurope. TheDutch Resistance supplied intelligence and cooperated with the American effort to liberate Europe at the command ofQueen Wilhelmina.[20]
In peacetime following its liberation in 1945 byallied forces neutrality was no longer attractive for the Netherlands and they turned to the newhegemony of the United States as their principal security partner and in turn supported the United States goals in global political affairs. The Dutch tried for years to recover its valuable colony of Indonesia, but the United States was impressed with the anti-communist stance of the Indonesian Republic, and insisted that the Dutch leave. Resentfully, they did so, and refocused their attention on West European and trans-Atlantic relations.[21] By the 1950s, according toGiles Scott-Smith the Americans considered the Dutch to be perfect allies in the Cold War:
The Dutch were politically close to the UK and were opposed to European affairs being dominated by either a renewedFrance or a resurgentGermany....the Dutch body politic, dominated as it was by the democratic socialists and Christian parties, was resoundingly anti-communist in outlook. The Netherlands was also positive towards a US-led free-trade regime, and during the Cold War was wholly committed to building a managed post-war economic and political order based around international organizations such as theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF),World Bank, and theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).[22]
In the post-war peace the U.S. was generous withMarshall Plan funds, designed to modernize Dutch technology and help it integrate into what became theEuropean Union. The Netherlands political climate was dominated by a desire to never see war on the European continent again in the wake ofWorld War 2 and Dutch foreign ministerDirk Uipko Stikker started advocating for a strong, militarily integrated trans-Atlantic alliance. Together with otherWestern Union members (Belgium,France,Luxembourg and theUnited Kingdom) and with the backing of the United States'secretary of stateGeorge C. Marshall they negotiated theTreaty of Brussels.
In recognition of theDutch People's admiration and respect for the war heroDwight D. Eisenhower, on his birthday October 14, 1947 at theDutch embassy in Washington, D.C., ambassadorEelco van Kleffens presented the "legendary hero of World War II" with an ‘honorarysabre’. Weighing nearly five pounds, the gold-encrusted sabre was embedded with hundreds of gemstones and had been meticulously handcrafted by one of the most skillful goldsmiths in The Netherlands; Edelsmidse BromEdelsmidse Brom [nl] in Utrecht.[23]
With the Dutch Americanalliance for the first time taking on a decidedlymilitary character, talks atthe Pentagon inearly 1948 laid the foundation for theNorth Atlantic Treaty. In recognition of his earlier work in establishing theWestern Union,Dwight D Eisenhower advocated forDirk Uipko Stikker to become its thirdsecretary general.[24]
Immediately following the tighter integration of military forces in the context ofNATO, the United States became increasingly worried about the rise ofcommunism in thesecond phase of the Cold War, culminating in theKorean War. With their newly established military cooperation, the Netherlands joined theUnited Nations Command. Despite stronganti-war sentiments in the Netherlands, theNetherlands Detachment United Nations (NDVN) was deployed to assist the United States military operation, with maritime efforts following shortly after.[25]
As prosperity returned, Dutch tourists increasingly came to the United States. They had become fascinated by American movies, music, and television programs and took advantage of the sharp drop in transatlantic airfares in the 1960s. The tourists chose destinations based on their media exposure, soHollywood and New York City were favored. Tourism thus reinforced the stereotypical images portrayed in the American media.[26]
Relations became tense in 1981 when United States PresidentRonald Reagan rejecteddétente andescalated the Cold War. Reagan deployedcruise missiles or INF (intermediate-range nuclear forces) weapons atWoensdrecht in the Netherlands to counter new Soviet missile deployments. A wave of protest resulted. In 1982 four Dutch journalists were killed by Washington-backed government forces inEl Salvador. To calm the tensions, Washington sent a newambassador,Paul Bremer. By 1985 he won Dutch approval for the INF deployment and the Dutch supported Reagan's dealings with Soviet PresidentMikhail Gorbachev.[27]
In 1989 with tensions building in the lead up to the firstGulf War, the Netherlands joined theUS led coalition againstIraq at the request of US secretary of stateJames Baker.
The Netherland and United States have been both held active roles in global peacekeeping efforts in the former Yugoslavia,Afghanistan,Lebanon andSinai Peninsula.
The countries were described by PresidentGeorge W. Bush as "brother nations",[28] and by PresidentBarack Obama as "one of our closest and some of our oldest and most precious allies".[29][30][31] Obama has also said that, "Without the Netherlands there wouldn't be a United States of America as everyone knows it now".[citation needed]
The bilateral relations between the two nations are based on historical and cultural ties as well as a common dedication to individual freedom and human rights. The Netherlands shares with the United States a liberal economic outlook and is committed to free trade. The Netherlands is the third-largest direct foreign investor in the United States,[32] and the Dutch-American trade and investment relationship is supporting close to 625,000 American jobs[33] with Texas, California and Pennsylvania benefiting most from these economic ties.[34] The United States is the third-largest direct foreign investor in the Netherlands.
The United States and the Netherlands often have similar positions on issues and work together both bilaterally and multilaterally in such institutions as the United Nations and NATO. The Dutch have worked with the United States at theWorld Trade Organization, in theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as within theEuropean Union to advance the shared US goal of a more open and market-ledworld economy.[35][36][37]
In 2001 theUnited States was attacked during theSeptember 11 attacks and in response invokedarticle 5 of theNorth Atlantic Alliance for the first time since its inception. Theroyal armed forces of the Netherlands responded by mobilizing the11th Airmobile Brigade and most of its active dutyAir Force and started to actively patrol European air space with the halting of global commercial air travel to the United States with the activation of theSCATANA plan. The Dutch prime ministerWim Kok issued a statement vowing to bring to justice any and all perpetrators of the attack at any cost.[38][39]Queen Beatrix conveyed her condolences per telegram to president Bush.[40] With the subsequentUnited States invasion of Afghanistan the Netherlands were active participants in theInternational Security Assistance Force andOperation Enduring Freedom.[41][42][43]
In 2005,George W. Bush traveled to several countries including the Netherlands to commemorate the 60th anniversary ofWorld War 2 ending and commemorateVictory in Europe Day at theNetherlands American Cemetery and Memorial atMargraten nearMaastricht.[44]George W. Bush met withJan Peter Balkenende during the visit to discuss trade and security matters. It is widely believed thatDutch Prime Minister asked for the end of using the Netherlands as a hub in theCIA'sextraordinary renditions.[45][46]
In 2016, the Netherlands joined theU.S.-led coalition againstISIL inIraq andSyria.[47] During thefirst presidency of Donald Trump the American troops stationed in the Netherlands increased by a few.[48]
In 2024, the Netherlands and the United States entered into security agreements withUkraine in response to theRussian invasion of Ukraine as part of a largerNATO initiative to supportUkraine with ammunition and weapons systems.[49] As part of the agreement the United States approved delivery of advancedF-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands to Ukraine.[50] The appointment ofMark Rutte asSecretary General of NATO was favored by theUnited States presidentJoe Biden.[51]
In 2025, the Netherlands hosted the2025 The Hague NATO summit and invited presidentDonald Trump to stay atHuis ten Bosch on June 24 after the traditional pre-summit dinner. The summit was a crucial diplomatic event forDutch diplomats, captured as "Hosting the NATO Summit was a unique opportunity to show how the Netherlands contributes to international peace and security."[52] The pre-summit dinner was opened with a speech from his royal highnessWillem-Alexander who personally invited Trump to spend the night at the palace as his personal guest,[53] the first time ever such an invitation was issued to a non-royal foreign dignitary.[54] After a warm welcome whereTrump metCatharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange for the first time,[55] the king especially asked for attention toArticle 3 of the NATO charter in his speech[56] citing an increasing threat from Russia, further highlighting the joint approach between the United States and the Netherlands in their bid to influence all NATO countries to increase their spending to 5%.[57][58] In the approach to the summitDonald Trump shared an unprecedented intimate look into the personal communications between himself and former prime-minister and the Dutch's foremost diplomatNATO Secretary Mark Rutte by sharing private messages on hisTruth Social account,[59] highlighting the close and familiar tone between the Dutch and American diplomats at the highest level.[60][61] During thesummit Dutch and American diplomats worked together to ensure new agreement on the 5% of GDP spending goal[62] was adopted without issue[63] despite early pushback fromSpain.[64] In remarks to the media presidentTrump referenced the close relation withMark Rutte saying "I came here because it was something I'm supposed to be doing, but I left here a little bit differently. [..] I watched the heads of these countries get up and the love and the passion that they showed for their country was unbelievable. I've never seen quite anything like it. They they want to protect their country and they need the United States and without the United States, it's not going to be the same. And you can askMark or you can ask any of the people that were there. It was really moving to see it. They love their country. They were so respectful of me because I'm thehead of the United States [..] Without the United States, we couldn't they couldn't really have NATO. It wouldn't work. It couldn't work. [..] And I left here differently. I I left here saying that these people really love their countries. It's not a ripoff and we're here to help them protect their country. [..] It was wonderful".[65][66] Media sources have referred to the Dutch strategy as 'flattery'[67][68][69] and some have suggested the Dutch approach changed president Trump's mind on NATO.[70][71][72]
In the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, the U.S. has a consulate-general
The U.S. Consulate General in Willemstad operates as its own mission, with the Consul General as the "Chief of Mission". As such, the Consul General is not under the jurisdiction of the Ambassador to the Netherlands, and reports directly to the U.S. Department of State as do other chiefs of mission, who are ambassadors in charge of embassies.[73]
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This article incorporatespublic domain material fromU.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets.United States Department of State.
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