Virginia and Maryland have a history of competing for businesses, but when it comes to emerging international markets, they put the rivalry aside. “There are so many opportunities here that I’m not worried about that competition,” Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said last week from India.
McDonnell returns Monday after a two-week trip to Israel and India just as Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley heads to India on a six-day trade mission with more than 100 business leaders, educators and elected officials. Both governors have openly embraced developing foreign economies, set up trade offices in China and now are hoping to find new customers for local products among India’s 1.2 billion citizens.
At the same time, these countries being courted by the states have a contentious relationship with American politicians who target them on the campaign trail and in Congress as poachers of U.S. jobs. Last week, a House appropriations bill that passed both chambers included a provision requiring the Commerce Department to study how the United States can encourage domestic companies to bring manufacturing jobs back to American soil.
“People may contend that they are stealing jobs from America, but [India is] already doing business here and they have a significant economic impact,” said Raquel Guillory, spokeswoman for O’Malley. “We’re trying to build relationships with this country. They provide an enormous benefit.”
Virginia leaders often discuss that paradox, McDonnell said, but the state can’t ignore the opportunity to increase exports to 2.5 billion Indian and Chinese consumers. On his trip, McDonnell promoted Virginia wineries to Indian hotels and the state’s film industry to Bollywood studios as part of his effort to entice Asian investors to do business in the West.
That’s a smart plan, said Jiawen Yang, professor of international business at George Washington University, because it’s unlikely the United States will ever regain the manufacturing jobs it shed and attempts to “repatriate” jobs through public policy aren’t entirely realistic.
“I think that is more politics rather than economic realities,” Yang said. “Labor is very expensive in the United States, and its comparative advantage is high tech, capital-intensive goods.
“More governors from the United States should follow [McDonnell and O’Malley’s] lead,” he added. “More dialogue, more mutual visits will help to help promote trade and investment.”
