Brexit an opportunity for R.I.?

State-organized, international trade trips have taken business and government leaders in Rhode Island to Canada and the United Kingdom in recent months.

The latest venture, to England and France, came soon after the United Kingdom voted to begin the process of exiting the European Union. British media, including the Financial Times, said the Ocean State contingent was the first to visit post-Brexit vote.

While the economic impact of that pending split is still unfolding, the Rhode Island contingent found it was clearly on the minds of their business counterparts in the U.K.

R.I. Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor said all of the representatives overseas brought up the vote to leave the EU in the context of exploring other countries where their companies might want to extend their business interests or offices.

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“In their observation, the U.K. economy is vulnerable,” he said.

Seven Rhode Island companies sent representatives, including Alex & Ani, Mearthane Products Corp. and Life Wear Technologies. The companies on the receiving end of the visit included representatives of the technology, bioscience, financial technology and manufacturing sectors. The one-week trip included stops in London and Leeds, while a smaller group visited the Paris offices where GE Digital is establishing a presence.

Pryor, who had 10 individual meetings with businesses over the course of the trip, which ended Sept. 25, said companies were interested in seeking out trade alternatives to their European Union partners.

“We met with a bioscience company, which is a prospective business for Rhode Island,” Pryor said. “They were welcoming because they likely need to land parts of their operations somewhere else in the world.”

How much tangible value came of it all?

Gary S. Sasse, founding director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University, said trade missions can be effective economic-development tools if they are tailored enough to the right industry and companies, and organized well in advance.

“You have to do plenty of preparation ahead of them if they’re not going to be junkets,” he said.

Pryor said all of the local companies felt they developed business relationships that were promising. Some immediately led to more work.

Donald Frugé, director of the Providence-headquartered Feeney Law Group, met with individuals and the next day signed up a new client.

In December, he plans to travel on the state’s next scheduled international trade mission, to startup-rich Israel. While all face-to-face networking helps with business development, the multicultural facet of international trade makes personal introductions more important, he said.

“We find these extremely valuable,” Frugé said of the trade trips. “It breaks down barriers that you could not [eliminate] with a phone call.” •

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