Navigating Global Trade Assistance

Multiple entities are mentoring and assisting Garden State companies With Their international trade endeavors.

By George N. Saliba, Contributing Writer On Jul 2, 2025

New Jersey’s massive East Coast seaports and Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) have not only helped make imports arriving here equal to 18.1% of the state’s GDP, but they have additionally assisted in turning the state into the 14th largest exporter of goods in the nation. Today, numerous organizations in New Jersey are striving to grow the equation by advising companies that wish to engage in global trade even as uncertainties about tariffs loom. 

Case in point: The New Jersey Business Action Center (NJBAC) has within it the Office of Export Promotion, which offers businesses help with everything ranging from developing a viable export plan and assistance with foreign custom procedures/regulatory compliance, to coaching with locating buyers and identifying potential markets to test local demand. 

“We train [companies] on exactly what would be the right country for them to export their products,” explains NJBAC’s Executive Director Melanie Willoughby, adding that NJBAC additionally connects businesses with federal, state and local governments to aid in the exporting process.

“We basically help them with any business questions they may have about the benefits of exporting because it can seem so overwhelming to a small company that may only have a few employees, but that could really expand its business if it decides to export,” Willoughby says. “So much of the world is available and open to these companies if they just think outside their borders.”

There’s another offering at NJBAC: The New Jersey State Trade Expansion Program (NJ STEP). Funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration as well as the US Department of State, NJ STEP provides financial awards to partially offset export promotion costs in areas including, but not limited to, “website and e-commerce fees to attract international buyers”; “design of international marketing media”; “participation in international trade missions”; and “participation in international and US trade events.” NJBAC’s Office of Export Promotion has helped 6,900 companies and has awarded over $9 million to New Jersey small businesses since 2012. Overall, this has generated $360 million in actual sales of export products, and more than 2,500 jobs.

One NJ STEP success story is funding awarded to Nouveautes Inc., the parent company of Immunity Goodness in Fairfield, which manufactures 100% Belgian chocolate and specializes in white and private label manufacturing of infused chocolate. The business entered international exporting with the help of an NJ STEP grant.

New Jersey District Export Council (NJDEC)

Other entities are likewise involved with aiding New Jersey firms, particularly with exporting because it drives external (overseas) money into the state. This includes the New Jersey District Export Council (NJDEC), comprised of volunteers appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce who offer mentoring to people who want to start or expand exporting business. Mentoring examples include helping people locate a distributor or directing them toward a freight-forwarding company, or, say, assisting with banking-related inquiries.

NJDEC Chair Dawn Cecco tells New Jersey Business Magazine that she’s seen increased interest in exporting, adding that she recently spoke to an NJDEC beneficiary who said, “‘You know, [exporting] is not as scary as I thought it was going to be. I was [initially] very intimidated by trying to sell my goods outside of the United States. There are a lot of programs available to help, such as the NJ STEP grant.’” 

Cecco adds that she wants to see New Jersey become among the top five exporting states. For now, Texas, New York, and Louisiana rank highly on exports and imports, with some of that commerce driven by petroleum-based products. In New Jersey, the largest manufacturing export category is chemicals, at $11.1 billion in 2024, followed by: computer and electronic products; primary metal manufacturing; miscellaneous manufactured commodities; and petroleum and coal products. 

Tariffs

President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs – combined with increased tariffs imposed by foreign nations as a response – could potentially mar international trade in the state, although any long-term impacts are unknown and may ultimately be salutary. New Jersey’s top export destinations, including Canada, Mexico, Japan and China, each have their own tariff dynamics, which, at press-time, have not been fully determined. 

NJBAC’s Willoughby highlights that US tariffs are directed at imports, saying, “… the economy is reacting very badly to the Trump tariffs, and companies are very concerned about what the impact of these tariffs are going to be on their bottom lines. Companies, in many cases, are not making decisions about expansion or adding new products or services at this time because they want to wait and see what the bottom line will be with the Trump tariff situation.”

NJDEC’s Cecco echoes similar sentiments: “A lot of people are of the attitude of ‘wait and see,’ because it is ever-changing, and if they have an urgent need, we’re trying to [help them]. Most of the people who are worried about the tariffs are people who have existing businesses, right now, overseas.”

Importing 

Many people have extolled the benefits of exporting, but arguably less has been said about importing, and enticing foreign companies to expand their operations in New Jersey. Newark-based Choose New Jersey – the state’s leading non-profit business attraction organization – is the entity engaged in bringing such firms here. Choose New Jersey’s Director of Business Development Andy Kuhn tells New Jersey Business Magazine, “Choose New Jersey brokers connections between foreign companies and statewide partners first, via its 6 Global Centers which are working around the clock to connect the world to New Jersey as an ideal location for them to locate and operate.”

He adds, “The initial connections can come via phone call, email, in person meetings at trade shows or business events, or any other opportunity. That connection is then brokered between our office here in New Jersey where our business development team coordinates around their need. Be it real estate information, workforce statistics, existing industry partnerships, or connections with academia, the Choose New Jersey team aims to create alignment between interested companies and the New Jersey marketplace.”

Conclusion 

The benefits of expanding international trade are many, and not necessarily purely financial, as efforts to facilitate exporting or importing via mentoring and/or other avenues have many positive outcomes. Overall, Choose New Jersey’s Kuhn concludes, “Aside from the obvious net economic benefit that comes from enhanced business presence in the state [when foreign companies arrive], existing New Jersey companies find themselves with new customers and partners, direct connections into foreign markets – and by seeing competing solutions – businesses get the opportunity to shape their own innovative products.” 

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

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