While trade tensions between the U.S. and China continue to fester at the national level, there is significant variation in how those effects are being felt across U.S. states. In every state, there is a unique ecosystem that supports trade with China and other countries that track to the national situation to varying degrees. This episode examines on how firms in Michigan have continued to do business with China in recent years. Joining Chris Marquis is Mark Becker, Director of International Supply at Cherry Central Co-Op, a Michigan-based organization that buys and processes fruit from small farmers across the U.S. and Canada, much of which is exported to China. Mark also discusses how the trade tensions have affected his business, how Cherry Central positions and markets its products in China, how it is dealing with the global shipping crisis, and also how it takes advantage of state-based trade promotion resources. On this last topic, also joining the episode are three leaders from U.S. federal- and state-level organizations that provide export assistance to U.S. businesses, providing details on the variety of training, advocacy, market intelligence and networking services their organizations provide, as well as in some cases financial support of U.S. businesses international expansion efforts.
