15 Apr 2025
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce’s latest trade mission with Scottish Chambers of Commerce to New York City coincided with the city’s Tartan Week – a celebration of Scottish-American culture, relations and business. Delegates from Dram Communications, The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice, Street Soccer Scotland, Tots United, Angelwax, Trump Turnberry, Scottish Asian Business Chamber, Little White Rose Films Ltd, Violet Media, The Gael Spirits Company, Tethered App, and Mint Ventures joined our Deputy Chief Executive Richard Muir and Commercial Director Susan McKay for a packed few days of events, networking and meetings.
The trade mission, supported by and led alongside The Scottish Government and Scottish Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Moray Chamber of Commerce, got underway on Wednesday 2 April.
On their first full day in New York, the team met up with Anne-Sophie Mahle, New York City Economic Development Corporation to hear how they are creating a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers, before being welcomed by Jessica Walker, CEO of Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, who we've had a Memorandum of Understanding with since 2016, where we discussed Manhattan's post Covid recovery and business support initiatives.
Our delegates also spent time with Tamra Eker from BritishAmerican Business, an exclusive transatlantic business networking group for C-suite executives and SMEs in the UK and USA, and attended the Department for Business and Trade, Scottish North American Business Council and Procemx Reception and Panel Discussion on sustainability.
Thursday gave our delegates the chance for B2B meetings, making the most of their time in New York, before attending the United States Council for International Business for an informative meeting and presentation and discussions around trade documentation and certification issues.
On Friday, the team attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and Greater New York Chamber of Commerce at their headquarters, a significant step in reinforcing the relationship between the two sides of the Atlantic and reinforcing our existing MOU with the Manhattan Chamber.
We also hosted a business networking reception in midtown Manhattan connecting with Global Scots, senior government officials, and business leaders to deepen international partnerships and showcase Scottish innovation and entrepreneurship. We were delighted to welcome both the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney MSP and the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray MP to the evening to celebrate Scottish culture and reinforce our commitment to strengthening economic ties and creating new opportunities for Scottish businesses.
Saturday was the grand finale of Tartan Week, with the 27th annual NYC Tartan Day Parade marching up Sixth Avenue in the city's biggest annual display of Scottish culture. We were right in the heart of the action, and attended the Kirkin O' The Tartan Service beforehand, a pan-denominational blessing of the tartans of the clans, celebrating Scotland and Scots in America. The day was the perfect way to round off a successful trade mission for our team of delegates, all having made the most of their time in New York building new connections and strengthening existing ones, and with a lot to reflect and follow up on now we’re back home in Scotland.
