​NI`s 'special relationship' with US cemented in Washington

In my role as FSB`s NI Policy Chair and also one of the UK Government`s Export Champions, the week`s events provided the small business community with unrivalled access to politicians and policy makers.

We started the week with FSB holding its annual ‘Power of Small Business’ roundtable in Washington DC, hosted by Tina McKenzie MBE, FSB`s UK Policy Chair, building on the success of last year`s event where we sought to focus on creating a prosperity process for the next 25 years. Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Secretary of State for NI; Joe Kennedy III, US Special Envoy to NI for Economic Affairs and James Applegate, US Consul General were in attendance. We were also delighted to welcome Professor Paul Bartholomew, Vice Chancellor of Ulster University and Professor Margaret Topping, Pro Vice Chancellor at Queen's University, alongside representatives from organisations across the UK, US and EU.

The discussions focused on how we maximise investment and export opportunities for SMEs with US companies seeking to expand their footprint in Europe, NI having dual access to both the UK Internal Market and the EU`s Single Market, and NI`s indigenous businesses seeking new business opportunities on a transatlantic basis, whether through exporting or linking up with US businesses.

SMEs power NI`s economy and employ more people than all the large businesses and the public sector combined. That is why we were in the US promoting our SMEs whose leadership, energy and innovation will help drive NI forward during the next 25 years.

This engagement was also about cementing relationships as we strive to ensure that SMEs are at the centre of discussions when seeking to exploit economic opportunities between the US, UK and EU. Those discussions are ongoing and we look forward to them bearing fruit. It is vital that we continue to showcase the entrepreneurial spirit which is very much alive and well in the SME sector across the UK.

A huge plus was that this year`s discussions took place in a different atmosphere from last year, with all of the week`s events in Washington held against a backdrop of a restored NI Executive and Assembly, underpinned by the presence of the First Minister, Michelle O`Neill MLA, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly MLA, the Economy Minister, Conor Murphy MLA, Education Minister Paul Givan MLA, and a host of other NI politicians who are now fully engaged in operating the Stormont institutions.

We should not underestimate the diplomatic impact of having Ministers from the NI Executive in Washington this week, meeting the President of the US Joe Biden, and presenting a united front to show that NI is a fantastic place to live, work and invest. The challenge now is to harness the positivity and good will so that we turn it into real investment in NI and its people.

The White House, Capitol Hill, UK and Irish Governments working alongside the NI Bureau, Invest NI, the Ireland Funds and InterTrade Ireland threw open their doors and offered up a platform which many countries would be envious of. I congratulate them all, including my colleagues from other business organisations and also our universities who provided an impressive shop window for NI.

The connections between NI and the US go back generations, cementing our own ‘special relationship’, which can play a positive steadying role for the future, especially in a year when more than half the planet is likely to go to the polls. Last week`s events in Washington build on those bonds and our politicians should be emboldened to capitalise in the positive reception which they received.

As my colleague Tina McKenzie has stated, we have the ingredients to set NI on a positive economic trajectory - dual market access, potential for lower corporation tax, making NI an Enhanced Investment Zone, Freeport status and perhaps even US pre-clearance from Belfast International Airport.

We also have friends and allies in the rest of the UK, US and EU to whom we can turn for support, advice and guidance. It is absolutely vital that we work with them all to make sure we deliver on the potential for future generations.