McMillan 18
Studies, indicate “gubernatorial visits are an important factor in foreign investment and exports.
Without them, American businesses would be hard-pressed to compete abroad” (Anderson
2005). Continued debate about this topic gives relevance to this study.
I
NTERVIEWS WITH
S
TATES
’
O
VERSEAS
O
FFICIALS
During May 2006, nine directors of states’ overseas offices in Europe as well as a senior
official within the U.S. Commercial Service in an American embassy and a policy manager of a
major transatlantic chamber of commerce were interviewed. In-depth telephone interviews were
also conducted with four additional directors of states’ overseas offices. State officials
interviewed focus more on investment, with the collective average spending 65 percent of their
time on investment and the remaining time on trade promotion. Very little tourism promotion
work is performed by these officials or their offices.
Most officials felt states are continually focusing more on investment (some were
pushing for this themselves), although two officials had recently been asked to concentrate more
on trade. A Commercial Service official comments, “From an efficiency standpoint, the export
promotion objectives of the U.S. Commercial Service match up with those objectives of states’
offices.” This official, as well as another high-ranking official in Brussels interviewed in 2003
agreed that it would seem states should focus more on investment (Ford 2003; Personal
Interview 2006). However, while most states grant small and medium-sized businesses their
services free of charge, the U.S. Commercial Service charges for its export promotion services.
Therefore, states’ trade promotion services are not likely disappear. Yet, scholars, as well as all
officials interviewed, agree that it is easier for states to work on investment in the sense that its
results are more easily measurable.
13
Since the U.K. is the largest investor in the U.S., one official noted that many states are automatically interested in
placing an office in Britain for investment purposes. The U.K. Department of Trade and Industry is increasingly
Convention