On Thursday June 22 2023, United Kingdom Minister for Exports, Lord Offord welcomed the second working group under the UK-North Carolina Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on economic cooperation and trade relations at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England.
Attendees included more than twenty senior North Carolina officials responsible for economic development and academics, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, the Leader of Manchester City Council Bev Craig and UK industry representatives with an interest in trade with North Carolina.
Following introductory remarks from Mayor Burnham, the Minister for Exports, Lord Offord, set out the UK Government's commitment to state-level engagement as a key component of our work to deepen US-UK trade and investment ties and summarised progress to date under the North Carolina-UK MoU.
North Carolina Department of Commerce officials gave a presentation explaining why the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) recently ranked North Carolina as the number one state in which to do business. The presentation outlined the state's ambitious plans for clean energy, highlighting trade and investment opportunities for UK companies, particularly in industries of the future, including electric vehicles, offshore wind, advanced manufacturing and aerospace.
During the second half of the meeting, the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to the US for Regional Trade and Investment, The Rt Hon Sir Conor Burns MP, hosted a panel discussion with executives from UK companies, TNEI, Zenobe and Marshall Aerospace, exploring how greater collaboration between the UK and North Carolina will lead to greater opportunities for businesses on both sides of the pond.
Since signature in July 2022, under the framework of the MoU, the UK and North Carolina have:
- Facilitated a trade mission from Greater Manchester to North Carolina to boost trade tourism and investment;
- Organised a delegation of UK offshore wind exports to visit North Carolina to share best practice and identify opportunities for trade, investment and academic collaboration;
- Supported a trade mission organised by the Motorsport Industry Association which brought ten UK motorsports technology and high-performance engineering companies to Mooresville, North Carolina, to visit major US motorsports companies and identify new business development opportunities;
- Facilitated a delegation from Manchester City FC to deepen ties in the women's game in North Carolina including exploring a possible festival of football; and
- Promoted trade and investment opportunities to SMEs between North Carolina and the UK through events including the North America Roadshow which was held across twelve UK cities with the aim of offering key information and guidance to UK businesses on the opportunities available in the US, including at the state level.
The next working group meeting will take place in North Carolina in six months.
