Great Britain, South Carolina Strengthen Trade Ties — Here’s Why > Columbia Business Report

South Carolina has a historic relationship with the United Kingdom that goes back hundreds of years, but most people may know the strong relationship the two now have when it comes to trade.

Think international trade and South Carolina and obvious countries like China come to mind, as well as nations like Germany due to BMW’s large presence in the Upstate.

However, the UK and the state do $1.95 billion in annual trade, and a recent visit by UK Secretary of State for Trade Policy Greg Heads aims to increase this figure further.

Hades was in Columbia recently to meet with Henry McMaster, who signed a memorandum of understanding to increase trade and investment between the state and the UK. In the year Hands traveled to Utah to discuss another signing in early 2023, then signed in California.

It’s all part of what Hades described as a “twin-track” approach to boosting US trade in the UK on two levels – by engaging with individual states and the federal government.

In the future, UK officials also hope to meet with Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma and Washington for additional agreements.

“The MoU is an agreement to cooperate and work in areas of mutual benefit,” Hans told SCBiz News. “It’s a very short, business-like document compared to a thousand pages of a free trade agreement. This document is particularly relevant to two sectors: the automotive industry and life sciences.” , will detail the ways we can work together to grow business in the UK and South Carolina’s biggest sectors.

Global demand for electric vehicles has made the UK one of the world’s leaders in the industry, and the recent boom in South Carolina’s EV sector makes this an opportune time to upgrade the business, Heads said.

“South Carolina is considered one of the automotive hotbeds of the US and we want to get a piece of the action,” he said. Thinking about South Carolina as a good place for growth and investment, we want to see how we can access the UK EV sector.

He also highlighted life sciences as the fastest growing industrial sector in the state. The industry is growing in the United Kingdom, especially in Scotland and Wales, which makes it another area ripe for business growth, which increases export opportunities. The MoU focuses on building research and academic partnerships.

The memorandum of understanding is supported by Sigmatex, a British carbon fiber manufacturer with North American headquarters in Cameron, Orangeburg County.

“As a UK company, we chose South Carolina as our preferred North American base because of the state’s many advantages, including a strong labor pool, a fast-growing industry sector and a business-friendly regulatory environment,” said Paul McMullan. CEO of Sigmatex. “The fact that South Carolina and the United Kingdom have agreed to an agreement is very exciting news and is sure to bring additional benefits to companies like Sigmatex.”

Hands said the goal is to eventually expand the memorandum of understanding with South Carolina to focus on a broader range of industries, including green energy, professional services and more.

“There’s a lot of strong economic growth in the Southeast, and South Carolina is one of the leaders,” Hance said. “The state as a whole has a good outside view of progress from the governor’s residence to business leaders. We are very interested in your progress and want to be a big part of it in the future.