Author: Trip DuBard

The EU sent a pointed reminder to US states of the costs of a potential trade war .

In a report issued late last month, the European Union says it accounts for more than 600,000 jobs and more than $200 billion in investment in the the Carolinas and Georgia.

The study and an accompanying website, released by the EU mission to the United States, found that EU trade and investment create 6.8 million jobs across the United States and that the region represents $2.37 trillion of investments in the US.

The report is a not so subtle reminder of the importance of EU-US trade at at time when new tariffs remain possible from the Trump administration.

For the Carolinas and Georgia, the EU impact is significant.

Impact by State

South Carolina

In South Carolina (click here for complete infographic), the report cites $10.73 billion in exports from SC to the EU in 2017 and more than $528 million in revenue from EU visitors.

Interestingly, the state just reported that exports grew for the 9th year in a row, rising 7.5% to $34.6 billion. That ranks SC — the US’s 23rd most populous state — 14th among all states for exports. While China is listed as the top country for SC exports — with 16% of the total, Germany, the UK, Belgium, France and Norway account for about 23%. That means that if Europe were counted as a single trading partner, it would rank as SC’s largest.

Motor vehicles and parts dwarf all other SC exports, accounting for $4.7 billion — or about 44% of total SC exports. Aerospace comes in second at $530 million, followed by electrical equipment at $369 million.

North Carolina

In North Carolina (infographic here), the EU claims $13.2 billion in exports from NC and $908 million in revenue from tourists.

The top export from NC to Europe is pharmaceuticals, nearly double the second-place export — aerospace products, which is followed in third by chemicals.

Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk has been in NC since 1993, and is investing $2 billion in its facility in Clayton, NC.

Georgia

And in Georgia, (infographic here), the numbers are $14.2 billion in exports and just more than $1 billion from tourists.

In all three states, the EU claims to be the biggest source of foreign investment.

The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 nations in Europe. In 2017, the US was the EU’s largest partner for non-EU exports, and the second largest (behind China) for imports.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) surged in 2018 in The Netherlands, creating nearly 10,000 jobs, about 20 percent attributed directly to Brexit, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) announced.

The NFIA and its regional partners helped bring 372 projects to the country, accounting for 2.85 billion Euros and 9847 jobs, according to the NFIA.

Of those, 42 companies made the move because of Brexit, the agency said, including the European Medicines Agency. For more on that move, see our post here. 

Those Brexit-related companies account for 1,923 job and 291 million Euros in investment, NFIA said.

US and Canada

US and Canadian companies directed 85 projects into The Netherlands, creating 3,296 jobs and 1.2 million Euros in capital investment, according to the NFIA.

The large 2018 increases are more than double those in 2017 and could mean larger gains yet to come, officials said.

“Due to the growing international uncertainty surrounding Brexit and changing global trade policies, the importance of a good Dutch business climate for all of us is continually increasing,” said Eric Wiebes, Netherlands Minister of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy.

To read more, click here.

The  Kortrijk Biennale Interieur celebrated 50 years in October of its internationally acclaimed design festival. The week-long  exhibition has enabled the West Flanders city to move from a dying textile capital to a vibrant creative center.

For this 26th version of the festival, the Biennale was shortened from 10 days to five (Oct. 18-22). Still the impact on the city  both during the event and over the years, is and has been profound.

Transitioning from Textile Legacy

For much of the 20th century, Kortrijk anchored the textile industry of Belgium’s West Flanders region. But as the textile industry moved to other less expensive manufacturing areas, the Kortrijk region remade itself into a creative hub. That process continues today, with the Biennale Interieur being the most visible and internationally recognized symbol of the transition.

The process has resulted in design integrating itself into the local economy to such an extent that in 2017, UNESCO named Kortijk part of its Creative Cities Network. Kortrijk joined 180 other cities in 72 countries. (Only nine are in the US.)

The Kortrijk transformation is as significant as the change undertaken by its US Sister City — Greenville, located in the Upstate region of South Carolina.

Greenville shed its textile heritage to become a manufacturing powerhouse. The Upstate region is home to such companies as BMW, Michelin and Toray.

But while Greenville focuses on  high-end manufacturing, Kortrijk more subtly has worked to build a creative infrastructure that supports new and growing businesses.

5×5 – Creating Next Generation of Designers

That was evident at the Biennale Interieur with the 5×5 program presented by DesignRegio. A public-private partnership, Designregio supports design across West Flanders. Its 5×5 program specifically brings together an existing successful company that seeking help in creating a new process or product. Designregio puts the larger company in contact with an experience designer as well as a young designer. Together, the three partners develop the new process or product over two years, guided by 5×5’s protocols.

At Designregio, the finished work is presented — examined, critiqued and appreciated by the crowds.

Colleton County has an unnamed food packaging manufacturing plant interested in its 100,000 sq. ft. spec building, the Press and Standard newspaper of Walterboro reported on Walterborolive.com.

The county council gave the second of three required approvals to a tax ordinance which noted that the company anticipated “investing approximately $70 million in new machinery and equipment” and could have 360 employees within five years, the paper said.

Colleton County Economic Development Director Heyward Horton said that, if the project is completed, it would be the county’s biggest-ever economic development project.

Colleton is a county of about 40,000 people located adjacent to Charleston County in the Lowcountry area of South Carolina.

For  more information about Colleton and its economic development, click here.

A Virginia-based golf and accessory company is moving its manufacturing and warehouse operations to Chesterfield County in South Carolina, a recent story in the Columbia Business Journal reported.

 

Dynamic Brands is set to invest $3.8 million and create 12 jobs at a 65,000 square foot facility in  Pageland, the paper reports. Dynamic is the parent company of several brands of  golf carts, walking bags, golf towels and other recreational and travel accessories.

For more information about Chesterfield County and its economic development, click here.

Charleston International Airport has seen its air cargo business rise by 12 percent in 2017, and is on pace to set a record again in 2018, according to a report in the Post and Courier newspaper of Charleston.

The growth is due not only to FedEx’s continuing business there, but also Boeing and its manufacturing center.

“Boeing has brought significant shipments to the area,” FedEx cargo terminal operations manager Mike Matricciano told the paper. “Volvo probably will, too. With all the manufacturing moving here, we are anticipating additional growth.”

And American Airlines spokeswoman Whitney Zastrow said
“Charleston International Airport has become an increasingly popular destination, thanks to the state’s growing automotive industry.”

Click here to learn more about the Charleston area.