The United States of America is open for business and Fife firms should be taking advantage.
That was the strong message from Susan Wilson, principal officer for the US Consulate in Edinburgh, on a visit to the region.
Mrs Wilson met with local business leaders to outline the opportunities for linking up with firms in the United States, claiming that establishing working relationships could prove mutually beneficial.
She said: “The Council of American States in Europe are a group of people living in Europe that represent various American states.
“When Scots go to the US it is often Florida, New York, Las Vegas, California, but there are 50 states, it’s a huge country and sometimes a company would be really well placed to partner with a company in Iowa.
“These are representatives of various states and they are there to help connect interested businesses.
“Connecting Fife will hopefully create new partnerships, new bridges and new business opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Asked if Fife, and Scottish firms in general, were guilty of overlooking the US market in favour of UK and European markets, Mrs Wilson continued: “It depends on the business.
“Of course the UK domestic market is huge and the first port of call.
“But sometimes, depending on the product, they might just have a massive market in the United States.”
Last week, new figures showed a surge in UK manufacturing output in September, despite turmoil in the markets following the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union.
President Obama had spoken of his desire for the UK to remain a part of the EU before June’s referendum, however, Mrs Wilson said that following the vote, the US government’s stance had softened slightly.
“We believe a strong UK and a strong EU working together as closely and cooperatively as possible are absolutely crucial to global stability and security,” she added.
“While the United States and UK have always had an excellent, robust commercial partnership, our interest is in seeing that strong UK and strong EU working together in as close a partnership as possible.”
