Upstate South Carolina Alliance

Just before we entered the unreal world of lockdown in 2020, TSCS held in-depth discussions with economic development agencies in the dynamic state of South Carolina, USA in the hope of representing their interests in the UK and Europe.

In the world of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), South Carolina enjoys an enviable reputation and has attracted some of the world’s great manufacturing businesses to establish factories and distribution facilities. These include BMW, Michelin, and GE Power and they join more than 2,000 other engineering and manufacturing businesses in the state.

In particular, we built on our historic relationship with the Upstate South Carolina Alliance which dates back some five years but those links looked to have been derailed by the Covid lockdown and although we kept in frequent contact, the ban on international travel made it difficult to progress the deal. But as the world slowly re-opened in 2022, we refreshed our relationship with the USSCA CEO John Lummus and supported him and colleagues when they came to Scotland in mid-summer.

It was a limited duration assignment but terrific to be working again with John and his team and we remain hopeful that from such little acorns, we may see the re-flourishing of international trade and two-way FDI.

For more about the work of the Upstate South Carolina Alliance, go to www.upstatescalliance.com