Trade featured prominently in the presidential campaign last year, and President Trump continues to talk about wanting better deals for the U.S. He’s pointed to China and NAFTA as two areas of focus, though it’s still not clear what the future of trade will look like.
Tony Ganzer talks about what a consultant and an economist told him about the mood of Ohio businesses in the early days of President Trump.
In Ohio, it’s not clear how the administration will act, and how that will affect businesses here.
David Silk is Chairman Emeritus of the British-American Chamber of Commerce in Ohio, and a founder of SGI Global Business Advisors. He says businesses aren’t reacting just yet:
SILK: “The picture that we’re seeing at the moment is it’s very much business as usual. That’s not to say people don’t have their ears to the ground—of course they do. But generally from Ohio businesses and organizations, from the cities, we’re seeing business as usual, both in terms of exports, imports, development of overseas trade initiatives, etc.”
GANZER: “Is that a surprise to you, being in the realm of where people like stability to be able to make decisions about their businesses and things?”
SILK: “No, not really. We have seen for some considerable time, going back over years, that whatever the ups and downs of the political climate, the international climate, Ohio businesses have tended to treat this as business as usual. Ohio as a state is the eighth-largest exporting state by volume.”