• UK signs trade MoU with America’s ‘top state for business’, following agreement with Indiana in May
  • The clean growth-focused agreement aims to help businesses on both sides trade more easily with one another and boost investment
  • Government due to sign more state-level agreements – with Oklahoma and South Carolina in the coming months

 

The UK today (20 July) marks another milestone in its US state level strategy as it signs its second trade and economic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a US state – North Carolina.

Like the MoU signed with Indiana in May, the agreement with North Carolina will look to tackle unnecessary barriers to trade, cut costs and slash paperwork so British and North Carolinian businesses can work together more efficiently.

The MoU will boost collaboration in areas such as clean tech and energy infrastructure by enabling both sides to share ideas, skills and knowledge, supporting public and private partnerships and driving capital investment. It will also target trade barriers, increase investment, and enhance business networks in previously underinvested regions to support the UK’s levelling up agenda. 

The partnership will seek to accelerate growth in green trade, particularly in electric vehicles and offshore wind. The UK is already a global leader in wind power with more offshore installations than anywhere else in the world.

North Carolina is the ninth largest state in the US in terms of population and its nearly $550bn GDP is approximately the size of Sweden’s. Its biggest city Charlotte is the second largest financial centre in the US after New York and the Piedmont region is famous for its world-leading clinical research hub, the Triangle.

The state already buys $1.6bn (or £1.2bn)- of goods from the UK, making us their 12th largest export market. It offers UK businesses opportunities in fast-growing industries such as automotive, cleantech and manufacturing. For instance, British-based INEOS Automotive has chosen the state to open its North America HQ in Raleigh.

For the full article please click here. For acess to the MOU please click here.