The current economic and political environment makes doing business internationally extra challenging, but participants at Bryant University’s 2025 Global Trade Summit said Rhode Island’s blend of accessibility and natural resources make the Ocean State an excellent base for import/export companies, particularly those involved in the “blue economy,” life sciences and biotechnology, and food manufacturing and distribution.
“We know the landscape of global trade is constantly evolving, and while the complexities are significant, so too are the opportunities for innovation and growth,” said Bryant President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., in opening the two-day summit, sponsored by the university’s John H. Chafee Center for International Business. “That is why we are proud to provide a forum where leaders and innovators from across sectors can share insights, make connections, and explore ways to strengthen Rhode Island’s role in the global economy.”
Among the state’s biggest strengths is Quonset Point, which boasts one of the premier deepwater ports on the East Coast and serves as a major facility for automobile imports as well as a hub of defense work, led by Electric Boat’s submarine construction facilities.
“Rhode Island is not an island: we are connected,” said Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, who took part in the opening panel among with Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos, Rhode Island Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor, and Betty Robson, executive director of logistics company JF Moran and chair of the Global Trade Summit Committee.
“Rhode Island is not an island: we are connected."
Leaders stressed that companies doing business in Rhode Island can get direct access to decision makers that would not be possible in a larger state. “Government can move at the speed of business,” said James S. Bennett, president and CEO of Rhode Island Commerce, “and that's what we try to do.”
A time of historic disruption in trade
In a recorded address, Ngozi Okonji-Iweala, Ph.D., director general of the World Trade Organization, said gatherings like the Global Trade Summit “help business leaders, policymakers, academics, and students go beyond the headlines and the noise to take a close look at where global trade stands today and where it may go from here.”
“I’ll be frank: the disruption we’re now seeing is the worst the world’s multilateral trading system has faced since it was established 80 years ago in the wake of the Second World War,” said Okonji-Iweala, pointing specifically to tariffs being imposed by the United States on its trading partners. Still, she said, “while the global trade system is dented, it is not broken” and remains a “powerful engine for growth, advancement, and economic inclusion.”
"While the global trade system is dented, it is not broken.”
A call for cultural literacy from a ‘citizen of the world’
Keynote speaker James W. Keyes, who grew up in a shack without running water in nearby Grafton, Massachusetts, and rose to become the CEO of companies like 7-Eleven and Blockbuster Video, told the Global Trade Forum his most important title is “citizen of the world.”
A global perspective underpins what Keyes considers some of the keys to his success in the business world: adaptability to change, self-confidence, clarity of thinking, and cultural literacy.
“Collaboration is the essence of all commerce; we have to be able to work together,” said Keyes. “Cultural literacy is a fundamental ingredient. As Americans, we're awful at cultural literacy.” Noting how a conductor leads an orchestra comprised of diverse instruments, Keyes said, “That’s the power of collaboration and harmony.”
Uncertainty is the ‘new normal’ in international trade
Recently imposed tariffs on imported goods have presented huge business challenges, panelists from four New England shipping and logistics companies agreed. “Uncertainty is the common theme here,” said Victoria Kickham, senior editor of the logistics and supply chain industry magazine DC Velocity, who moderated a panel on “Logistics and Global Trade: Navigating the New Normal.”
“With any government policy there are winners and losers,” said Paul Thomas, CFO of the Tannin Corporation, a Massachusetts-based producer of leather goods. “What makes this time different is that the losers list has grown. If there was some stability, we could build around it, but the policy could change again in a month.”
"If there was some stability, we could build around it, but the policy could change again in a month.”
Panelists agreed that rising costs ultimately will be paid by American consumers, and expressed doubt that tariffs would achieve the goal of bringing manufacturing back to the U.S.
“’America First’ does not mean America alone”
In a lunchtime keynote presentation, Brian Quigley, director of private sector engagement in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Economics, Energy, and Business Affairs, said the Trump administration’s “America First” trade policy “makes the American people more prosperous and American industry more competitive,” in part by demanding that “American companies are to be treated fairly overseas.”
Quigley encouraged U.S. companies to “make us aware of challenges that they are encountering in foreign markets or with their interactions with foreign governments.”
“America First does not mean America alone,” said Quigley. “There is no other better market in the world to invest in currently than the United States. The United States government welcomes job-creating investments by U.S. allies and partners and support maintaining an open investment environment that benefits American workers and foreign companies.”
Mixed blessings from AI
AI can be a useful tool for trade forecasting and coordinating supply chain logistics, but skepticism about the technology still ran deep among a panel on “How AI is Reshaping Global Trade.”
“Where we’ve started to see success over the last two to three years is using specific applications of AI for mid-ocean forecasting using sea state, wind speed and direction, and wave period data,” said David Thomas, executive director of The PIER. “All of that is vital to supply chain because it's about predictability in the shipping corridor. It’s information they can use quickly to save time by slowing down and speeding up to avoid weather.”
The downsides of AI include heightened security risks, particularly with the rise of deep-fake capabilities, and lingering questions about the accuracy of AI outputs. “AI is right about 80 percent of the time,” said Thomas. “Humans are still better at many tasks.”
The outlook on the global economy: troubled
Disruptions to global trade have not yet resulted in the inflation that some had predicted, said economist Edinaldo Tebaldi, Ph.D., vice president for strategy and institutional effectiveness at Bryant. But "it's most likely that inflation will bounce back, and the most damaging and potential negative effect is on long-term growth,” he said. “It's time to get out there and make the case that international free and fair trade is important for all of us.”
“It's time to get out there and make the case that international free and fair trade is important for all of us.”
In addition to tariffs and “off the charts” economic uncertainty, the job market is soft and consumer sentiment is worsening, said Emily Mandel, a senior economist for Moody’s Analytics. The loss of foreign-born labor due to immigration crackdowns also is expected to be a drag on the economy, she said.
A “heightened risk of recession” is prevalent around the world, “and that's because these trade and policy implications that the U.S. is pushing through are global in their impact,” Mandel said. “Our outlook is for a much slower economy … we’re in a vulnerable situation.”
Taking flight with Regent
If the overall outlook on global trade at the forum leaned pessimistic, Rhode Island was able to point to some unvarnished success stories, notably the emergence of Regent Craft as a serious player in the civilian and military transportation realms.
Adam Triolo, Regent’s vice president of commercial business development, told attendees at the second day of the Global Trade Forum that the company recently began testing its innovative, 12-passenger “Seaglider,” which is classified as a watercraft but uses ground effect to lift and fly across water at up to 30 feet high.
Battery powered with gull-like wings hung with 10 engines, the Seaglider can carry passengers or cargo up to 180 miles on a charge at speeds of up to 180 mph. Potential uses include military transport, ferries, private transportation, offshore logistics, cargo, search and rescue.
“We picked the Ocean State because they've been incredibly supportive of what we're doing."
“We picked the Ocean State because they've been incredibly supportive of what we're doing,” including an infusion of $34 million in public funding, said Triolo. The company is currently building a 255,000-square-foot production facility at Quonset Point. “More than 300 plus jobs will be created by Regent in the next 10 years, with more than $56 million back into the Rhode Island economy over the next three. It’s really exciting to see Rhode Island really embrace this blue economy and become a hub for these types of innovations.”
The view from Washington
Liz Catucci, executive director of the Partnership for Rhode Island, moderated a panel that included Senator Jack Reed, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and Representative Seth Magaziner. The three Democratic lawmakers took a dim view of current trade policies.
“More and more companies are moving production out of the United States to third-party locations to get around retaliatory tariffs,” said Magaziner.
“More and more companies are moving production out of the United States to third-party locations to get around retaliatory tariffs."
The high cost of energy and shortage of affordable housing also play against economic development in Rhode Island, lawmakers said. Still, optimism about Quonset Point remained a big talking point.
“We’ve created a real center for defense and industry,” said Reed. “The blue economy in Rhode Island is on the leading edge, and a lot of that has been at Quonset.”
Health, food, and the sea
The 2025 Global Trade Forum drew to a close with informative breakout sessions on three key drivers of regional economic growth: the ocean economy, food manufacturing and distribution, and life sciences and biotechnology.
“We are a tiny but mighty state,” said ocean economy speaker Lee Silvestre, the East Coast coordinator for Naval X, part of the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research.
“We are a tiny but mighty state."
Overall, participants said prospects for Rhode Island’s economic future appear bright even as the global economy’s outlook remains uncertain.
“It was nice to see Bryant showcase the best of what Rhode Island has to offer,” said attendee Madis Suvari ’74, a North Kingstown resident, attorney, and business educator.
“We’re at a unique time in global trade, and what more important time to have this type of conversation,” said Jason Kelly, , director of the John H. Chafee Center for International Business. “As we look at growing our local economy and supporting companies, it's going to create a sense of FOMO for foreign direct investment with companies that are going to want to connect to what's happening in Rhode Island.”