The business mission from North Carolina spent several days in Prague in September, promoting N.C. as an ideal place to start doing business in the U.S., and organizing a seminar in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic in Prague. More than 30 firms attended the seminar, which addressed how to enter the U.S. Market and which strategies firms should avoid. Business, law and tax experts from Charlotte, NC, were on hand to answer any questions the firms might have.

North Carolina is already home to several Czech companies—i.e. high-quality bed maker Linet (http://www.linet.com/en/), designer rug manufacturer Grund (https://grundamerica.com/) and leading nanofiber production equipment company Elmarco (http://www.elmarco.com/). North Carolina welcomes EU-based firms to start their U.S. business in North Carolina. The state is home to several hundred foreign firms, primarily German and Czech companies, that can take advantage of a well-established network run by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.    

Three Czech businesses have already shared their positive experiences of having North Carolina as their home base. Many participants in the seminar liked the information they heard about the state so much that an idea about organizing a Czech business mission to North Carolina early next year was born right on the spot. The Embassy will be joining forces with Consul Vasicko and other N.C. partners to turn this idea into a reality.

During his trip to the Czech Republic, Secretary Skvarla also visited the city of Plzen where he met with Mayor Martin Zrzavecky.