As more countries ease COVID-19 travel restrictions, in-person trade missions are making a return, and some in the Rhode Island business community already have plans to attend or host the international events.
For businesses, trade missions have long provided an opportunity to increase exposure to a global market and forge stronger, more-personal connections with potential buyers. But like many events, the COVID-19 pandemic forced trade missions to go virtual in 2020 and into 2021.
That shift has already started to reverse. Earlier this month, following an approximately two-year absence of in-person events, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration announced that it is preparing to resume in-person, international trade missions in March.
Also this spring, R.I. Commerce Corp. will host several in-person delegations, according to spokeswoman Jennifer McGee.
“Rhode Island Commerce has continued to engage in foreign trade activity throughout the pandemic via online platforms,” she said, “and we are pleased to have scheduled several in-person trade delegations to Rhode Island this spring, including a delegation from Denmark in early March.”
R.I. Commerce will host another delegation from the United Kingdom in April, she said, and one from Belgium and the Netherlands later in the spring.
Providence-based outerwear company Cleverhood LLC, which designs and manufactures rain capes for cyclists, is one business that’s eager to take advantage of in-person events, with plans to attend urban bike shows in Germany and Denmark in the coming weeks. Though slightly different from trade missions, the events have faced similar delays.
“Our hope is that by, in essence, doing a trade mission, we can connect with distributors and larger retailers,” said owner and principal designer Susan Mocarski.
Cleverhood is already popular among international buyers, with this market comprising over 30% of its sales. A 200% year-over-year growth in overall business has allowed international sale rates to remain consistent throughout the pandemic, Mocarski said, but COVID-19 restrictions have nevertheless hampered the company’s efforts to expand its global market.
Attention from larger retailers is particularly pertinent with shipping and tariff expenses skyrocketing due to supply chain issues, Mocarski said, as these businesses order in bulk. Shipping costs per garment decrease dramatically in these large orders, allowing Cleverhood to cut down on high shipping costs for customers.
The increased interest in in-person trade missions comes as the John M. Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University – a key player in helping local businesses connect to overseas markets – is making a transition.
Mark S. Murphy, a former PBN editor, recently left his role as the center’s director. Neither Murphy nor Bryant have publicly given a reason for the departure.
Bryant also has not said when it expects to hire a new director or if an interim director will be appointed. A spokesperson for Bryant University said no one from the Chafee center was available to comment on in-person trade trips.
Trade missions hadn't completely disappeared in the last two years: since the start of the pandemic, R.I. Commerce, in partnership with the Chafee Center for International Business, has offered virtual trade missions to countries such as India, Israel, Taiwan and South Korea.
For some businesses, these virtual events have allowed them to cut back on travel expenses and increased accessibility to trade missions. But others hold that virtual meetings can’t compare to in-person events.
For Mocarski, the virtual events didn’t seem like they would offer the same benefits as in-person missions.
“In non-COVID times, you would have these booths, people going to different speakers – you’re kind of underfoot,” Mocarski said. “On a virtual platform, people can just avoid you … People are more likely to go to the things they already know because they’re not walking by them and have to click on you, and it’s a challenge if you’re unfamiliar to them.”
Additionally, registration fees for these missions remained high.
While the expenses associated with trade missions, virtual or in-person, can deter small businesses in particular from pursuing these opportunities, Mocarski said that resources offered by the Chafee center, R.I. Commerce, and State Trade Expansion Program grants from the U.S. Small Business Administration can help businesses overcome financial barriers.
Mark S. Hayward, district director of the SBA’s Rhode Island office, also encouraged small businesses to reach out to the Chafee center and apply for STEP grants.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for small business,” Hayward said. “We know that a lot of people have had great success, and we’re hoping that now that there is a discussion to reopen trade missions, that our manufacturing community will again be part of those discussions and part of those trips.”
Upcoming trade missions will take place with "basic health and safety precautions" in place, according to a notice from the International Trade Administration, with missions evaluated on a case-by-case basis as they approach. Depending on public safety factors, missions may be canceled or held on a virtual or hybrid basis instead.
