£1bn from us to US...

Feb 12 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

HE MIGHT BE teetering on the verge of recession, but Uncle Sam remains the Tees Valley’s biggest export customer.

Around £1bn in products and services leaves Tees every year heading for the States, with chemical, engineering, pharmaceutical, construction, aerospace and energy companies leading the charge.

But if you thought dealing with the biggest English-speaking nation in the world was easy, think again. They drive a hard bargain and they expect you to be awake when half the world’s asleep. SUE SCOTT explores the region’s “special relationship” with our corporate American cousins in the first of our new Export Focuses on pages 2 and 3.