YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Regional companies that engage in international trade face navigating the complexities and uncertainties elevated by tariffs, geopolitical issues and stress on the global supply chain.
These matters are important, not just to the United States economy, but especially to businesses across the state and in northeastern Ohio, specialists say.
“Between $84 billion and $85 billon – or 11 cents of every dollar – comes to the state of Ohio due to international trade,” says Mousa Kassis, director of the Export Assistance Network at the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Youngstown State University.
Approximately $56 billion is generated from manufactured goods that are exported all over the world, while another $26 billion is realized through exported services.
When you isolate a 13-county region in northeastern Ohio, the ratio is even higher, Kassis notes. Within this geographical footprint, 15 cents of every dollar is generated through global trade, he says.
“That’s because this area is built up for manufacturing,” Kassis says. “The percentage of people working in the manufacturing sector here is 28% – the highest in the state.”
The data underscores the importance of global trade to both the state and northeastern Ohio’s regional economy, Kassis says. That said, maintaining a stable relationship with international trading partners is critical to a healthy domestic economy.
Kassis was among the participants at the International Export Trade and Resource Seminar held Sept. 19 at Haltec Corp. in Leetonia. The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, or Magnet, and OSBDC’s Export Assistance Network sponsored the event.
Kassis says Ohio ranks as the 10th largest exporting state in the U.S., driven by sales of industrial machinery, which represented more than $9.7 billion worth of business in 2024. Other major exports include vehicles and automotive components, which brought in $7.68 billion last year; aerospace systems and parts yielded $5.8 billion worth of business; manufactures and distributors of electric machinery sold $4.3 billion in goods; while plastics and plastic parts enjoyed $3.4 billion in overseas trade.
Most of Ohio’s global commerce is done with Canada, which constitutes $19.8 billion worth of business, Kassis says. Second is Mexico, which brings in $9.5 billion. China is Ohio’s third-largest trading partner, representing approximately $3 billion.
“So there’s still a significant trade with China,” Kassis says.
Over the last three years, he observes, more Ohio exporters have opened up new markets in Southeast Asia and have pulled away from Europe.
“We’ve noticed a big change,” Kassis says. India, for example, has replaced Italy as Ohio’s 13th largest trading partner with nearly $800 million in business, while Malaysia has replaced Belgium as the 15th largest trading partner, importing more than $711 million. “So we see a shift from Europe to Southeast Asia with the state of Ohio.”
Trade Unease, Uncertainty
Complicating matters for exporters is the volatile international trade environment in place, largely instigated by the Trump administration’s global tariffs.
The administration has set a deadline of Nov. 2 for China to agree to a trade deal or face reciprocal tariffs of 34% on top of an already enacted 10% baseline tariff and a 20% “fentanyl” tariff passed this year. There are also threatened reciprocal tariffs against those countries – especially China and India – for purchasing Russian oil.
The prospect of even higher tariffs on Chinese goods has sent importers in the U.S. scrambling to secure as much inventory as possible before November, Kassis says. For example, the two busiest ports in the United States, Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., handled 2 million cargo ships each in both July and August, as buyers sought to lock in inventory well ahead of the holiday season.
China, meanwhile, has intimated that it would target U.S. industries with punitive measures should the trade feud worsen. Among these are auto manufacturers, construction machinery producers, the crude oil and natural gas industries, truck and farm equipment manufacturers, coal mining and others.
In particular, these measures would focus on industries that directly employ 3,818 people across 11 counties in the region. When considering a multiplier effect, these jobs represent indirect employment of more than 15,000 positions, Kassis says.
Among those impacted the most from tariffs are electronics producers, auto parts manufacturing and those engaged in heavy machinery and construction equipment manufacturing, he says. In the service sector, U.S. hospitality and travel companies, the tourism industry and consulting firms are hit the hardest.
Yet there are those that benefit from protective tariffs, Kassis adds. Domestic auto manufacturers, the steel industry, the aluminum industry, textile producers and the semiconductor industry are enjoying the benefits of higher prices forced on their competitors. And sectors such as health care, software and information technology and financial services also benefit from tariffs.
Adapting the Supply Chain
Companies are therefore confronted with adapting to the global market’s new normal, says Brett Dubsky, a consultant in Magnet’s operational excellence group. “What our clients see and what I see is the uncertainty,” he says. “You can’t predict for what you don’t know, and that is the supply chain.”
Companies instead must control what they can control, he says, by building resilience and establishing backup plans in the event of supply chain
disruptions.
That can be difficult for smaller and midsize companies in which employees aren’t skilled in supply-chain management, adds Maria Arrazia-Monteux of Magnet. It’s important that these smaller businesses give some responsibilities to those used to wearing multiple hats that understand how to negotiate and manage supply chain issues.
“By 2030, it’s estimated there will be a 20% to 40% gap in qualified supply chain personnel,” she says. “Other parts of your organization need to have that know-how to collaborate, negotiate effectively with and compete against bigger firms that have more functional expertise.”
Companies need to address these measures sooner than later, Kassis says, since most firms believe that turbulence in the supply chain is likely to continue for some time, despite trade deals with countries such as China.
“I think this is a trend that’s going to continue for the next three to five years,” he says. “Companies have to accept that. Then, they should invest in their people.”
Pictured at top: Mousa Kassis, director of the Export Assistance Network at the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Youngstown State University.