Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. So fascinating
Speaker 1: recent story out this month by Bloomberg News. It talked
Speaker 1: about how North America's Evy future hinges on a North
Speaker 1: Carolina turtle pond. It's a pond that sits him on
Speaker 1: a defunct lithium mind that album Marale is start looking
Speaker 1: to really restart and maybe, you know, kind of create
Speaker 1: a business because we know Evy battery supply chain. You know,
Speaker 1: the US is trying to create that, and so it
Speaker 1: just speaks to some of the industries that might create
Speaker 1: some jobs and activity in the state of North Carolina.
Speaker 1: And I think a lot of people listening right now
Speaker 1: I could think that the state was all about being
Speaker 1: the furniture capital of the world. Right. Yeah, well, let's
Speaker 1: get into it here in our Bloomberg Interactor Broker's studio,
Speaker 1: We've got Michelle Baker Sanders, Secretary of Commerce for the
Speaker 1: State of North Carolina. Good to have you with us,
Speaker 1: uh this afternoon. How are you key for having me?
Speaker 1: It's it's good to have you here. Um hey, just
Speaker 1: be a picture was the economy in North Carolina doing.
Speaker 1: The economy in North Carolina is doing very well. We
Speaker 1: are quite excited about the growth and its fansion and
Speaker 1: the fact that we are back to pre pandemic levels
Speaker 1: of economic growth. Well, let's talk about that. I think
Speaker 1: at this point, Um Michelle, that you know, we're trying
Speaker 1: to figure out the way forward. We heard from j
Speaker 1: Powell the FED share today and markets are enthused. Rates
Speaker 1: have moved down. You know, maybe some thinking that the
Speaker 1: aggressive FED moves are coming to an end doesn't mean
Speaker 1: they're going to start cutting rates. But he also seemed
Speaker 1: to say that he could do this without you know,
Speaker 1: maybe creating or he could do it with a soft landing.
Speaker 1: So give us some ideas about the insight you have
Speaker 1: about your economy going forward and for how long what
Speaker 1: kind of visibility? Sure? Um, well, you know, in spite
Speaker 1: of implation inflation and the tight labor supply and conversations
Speaker 1: about um, the entire global markets and the economy North
Speaker 1: Carolina continues to do well. Not only does this give
Speaker 1: us confidence in our future, but it underscores um with
Speaker 1: the indicators that we have what's possible in North Carolina.
Speaker 1: So I believe that North Carolina will continue to transform
Speaker 1: its economy to be more focused on technology as well
Speaker 1: as UM other booming section two sectors and UM. So
Speaker 1: I I really feel like the economy in North Carolina
Speaker 1: will continue to do well and will continue to grow. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna answer that phone, but I'm gonna talk
Speaker 1: to you instead. One thing that I'm wondering is you
Speaker 1: said the economic indicators we use. What are those economic indicators?
Speaker 1: What are the important numbers that you need to watch
Speaker 1: in the state of North Carolina. Some of the important
Speaker 1: numbers are our job growth and numbers UM, the number
Speaker 1: of jobs that we are creating, UM, the unemployment rate UM.
Speaker 1: But importantly an indicator for us is the attention that
Speaker 1: we are getting from businesses and the fact that businesses
Speaker 1: continue to expand and locate in North Carolina. That is
Speaker 1: the strongest indicator because we know that companies and ceo
Speaker 1: s can go anywhere in the world and they are
Speaker 1: choosing to come to North Carolina. We've had two records
Speaker 1: setting years of economic growth, job creation, and capital investment,
Speaker 1: and UM, you know, recently, or I should say this year,
Speaker 1: we've had extraordinary growth in the central region of North Carolina,
Speaker 1: which we call the Carolina Core, which is our like
Speaker 1: third economic engine UH in North Carolina, and that the
Speaker 1: other two being Charlotte and Raleigh area. UM. The economic
Speaker 1: growth in the Carolina Core reason I say it's extraordinary.
Speaker 1: We've had four major projects, three of those being historic
Speaker 1: and its economic development, capital investment, and job creation. And
Speaker 1: from those we have created an e V sector in
Speaker 1: North Carolina, in the Carolina Core. UM. So that of
Speaker 1: the other measures that our mission is the strongest indication
Speaker 1: that North Carolina has a unstoppable momentum right now, especially
Speaker 1: in the Carolina Core well and Michelle. And that's why
Speaker 1: I bet everybody thought I was crazy. But like this
Speaker 1: this story that Bloomberg News are our city group looking
Speaker 1: at what's going on at states and municipalities talking about
Speaker 1: that as we in the US try to get a
Speaker 1: complete e V battery supply chain in the US, how
Speaker 1: what's going on in North Carolina could be you know,
Speaker 1: maybe in the future a real good source and strong
Speaker 1: source and supply when it comes to lithium. So it's
Speaker 1: something that's going on. I want to dig a little
Speaker 1: bit deeper into that. When we come back, We're going
Speaker 1: to continue with Michelle Baker Sanders. She's Secretary of Commerce
Speaker 1: of the State of North Carolina. She's back in our
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Interactive Broker studio in New York City. But I
Speaker 1: love getting to see Tim what's going on when it
Speaker 1: comes to cities and states specifically. And she's talking about,
Speaker 1: you know, a fair amount of money coming in and
Speaker 1: our guest at this hour, Michelle Baker Sanders, She's Secretary
Speaker 1: of Commerce for the State of North Carolina. She's back
Speaker 1: in our Bloomberg Interactor Broker studio in New York City. So, Michelle,
Speaker 1: when you guys think about what will we were talking
Speaker 1: a little bit about the US looking to create a
Speaker 1: supply chain of materials when it comes to e V production,
Speaker 1: lithium holds maybe some great promise for North Carolina. How
Speaker 1: do you think about how do you strategize around maybe
Speaker 1: that supply chain, the e V supply chain for the
Speaker 1: state and what steps are you taking right now? Yes, UM,
Speaker 1: North Carolina is a major contributor or will be a
Speaker 1: major contributor to the supply chain e V supply chain
Speaker 1: UM with the recent announcements in central North Carolina or
Speaker 1: the Carolina core of Toyota, VIM faff UM and Boom Supersonic.
Speaker 1: Surely we will have a major factor to play these
Speaker 1: economic development projects. Not only UM you know, are will
Speaker 1: have outcomes from those companies, but the suppliers, the vendors,
Speaker 1: and the o e ms that support those companies supply chain.
Speaker 1: We believe or anticipate that they too will also either
Speaker 1: locate or expand to North Carolina because we know proximity
Speaker 1: matters when it comes to a supply chain. UM, the
Speaker 1: supply chain UH that is being built in North Carolina
Speaker 1: around electric vehicles UM, and I also want to mission
Speaker 1: suit semiconductor industry in the same region that we're talking about,
Speaker 1: which is anchored by Winston Salem, Greensboro and High Point.
Speaker 1: We have wolf Speed, a semiconductor company that's invested five
Speaker 1: billion dollars in chip manufacturing. So the theme that you
Speaker 1: hear and the thing that I'd like to underscore is
Speaker 1: that North Carolina is playing a key role and and
Speaker 1: a vital contributor to national security, to supply chain security,
Speaker 1: and also to economic prosperity not only for North Carolina,
Speaker 1: but for other states and other countries far beyond North Carolina.
Speaker 1: We have a globally competitive market and we are leading
Speaker 1: the way when it comes to electric vehicles, Michelle. I
Speaker 1: bet if I talk to commerce secretaries around the country,
Speaker 1: they're all competing for this. They know that this is
Speaker 1: where there's going to be tremendous growth. How competitive is
Speaker 1: it to get companies UM who want to be part
Speaker 1: of that supply chain, to get them to your state
Speaker 1: right now, right now? UM, of course it's competitive. We
Speaker 1: are globally competitive market. But what I can tell you
Speaker 1: is that, UM, you know, CEOs have can make a
Speaker 1: decision UH to locate anywhere in the world, and based
Speaker 1: on the results and based on North Carolina's performance, we
Speaker 1: know that they are making the decision and are intentional
Speaker 1: and want to be in North Carolina because North Carolina
Speaker 1: is a place where they can have an excellent quality
Speaker 1: of life, a good cost of doing business, and we
Speaker 1: have our greatest asset, which is talent. North Carolina is
Speaker 1: also a place where you will see leadership on many
Speaker 1: fronts and the e V space and workforce development in
Speaker 1: the clean energy space, and also when it comes to
Speaker 1: climate change. UM. Not to mention the domestic chot supply
Speaker 1: chain that North Carolina is working to be a major contributor.
Speaker 1: So we are a place that, um, you know, I
Speaker 1: think there are very few, if any companies that wouldn't
Speaker 1: want to be in North Carolina, wouldn't you say so? Well,
Speaker 1: it's certainly for the executives that these companies to answer
Speaker 1: that question. Hey, what I'm wondering, Uh secretary, is about
Speaker 1: other states that you compete with. Name your biggest competitor
Speaker 1: out there that you know when you hear the state name,
Speaker 1: you just shake your fist and say not again. I
Speaker 1: say up for every other state again again. We are
Speaker 1: globally competitive, so UM, we don't limit that to the
Speaker 1: borders of the states. We are globally competitive, and and
Speaker 1: I don't really shake my fist, but I do say
Speaker 1: bring it on, UM, because I know that North Carolina
Speaker 1: is UH competitive state. It's an excellent asset to market
Speaker 1: and it is. Bring it on South Carolina, bring it
Speaker 1: on Texas, bring it on Florida, which one. Um. We
Speaker 1: can look at the results though, and just see how
Speaker 1: wonderful the performance has been because of the partners in
Speaker 1: North Carolina, the strong ecosystem that we have a businesses UM,
Speaker 1: the university community college system, and because of the strong
Speaker 1: network of economic developers who care so deeply about not
Speaker 1: only the economic prosperity of the state, but about the
Speaker 1: people in the residents of the state. We have a
Speaker 1: governor in place right now who wants us to work
Speaker 1: hard every day to make sure that we have an
Speaker 1: economy that works for everyone. I think the key differentiative
Speaker 1: factor from North Carolina and and what gives me the
Speaker 1: confidence and the courage to say bring it on, is
Speaker 1: that North Carolina is a collaborator. We are one team,
Speaker 1: We have one mission, and we work together in all
Speaker 1: corners of the state, at all levels of government and
Speaker 1: with all of our um private and public business partners.
Speaker 1: And so that's rare. And you find that not only
Speaker 1: doing the early stages of site selection, recruiting and you know,
Speaker 1: making that decisions where a company will go. You will
Speaker 1: find that with us through the longevity of the life
Speaker 1: of the Christian Michelle, you sound awfully optimistic, and um,
Speaker 1: I get it. And you talk about the investment coming in.
Speaker 1: You know we did today. It feels like this was
Speaker 1: an upbeat day. J Powell gave some enthusiasm. It felt
Speaker 1: like two investors or reasons to be enthusiastic and optimistic
Speaker 1: that maybe they're not going to be so aggressive with
Speaker 1: rate increases UM and maybe coming to an end of that.
Speaker 1: We saw the stock market rally, we saw rates come down.
Speaker 1: What I do wonder, you know, a big part of
Speaker 1: your enthusiasm is these commitments from firms when it comes
Speaker 1: to you know, building facilities, manufacturing, if you will, in
Speaker 1: your state. Are you seeing any of that slowing data.
Speaker 1: We've just got about thirty seconds. We have the same
Speaker 1: companies make different decisions than anticipated. But what gives me
Speaker 1: hope and gives me this optimism is that even in
Speaker 1: the spite of the most difficult and challenge in Tim's
Speaker 1: North Carolina continues to its sale all right, but things
Speaker 1: are slowing down, which is which is kind of interesting
Speaker 1: in terms of tone and sentiment. UM. Michelle, thank you
Speaker 1: so much. Michelle Baker Sanders, Secretary of Commerce for the
Speaker 1: State of North Carolina, back in our Interactive Broker studio
Speaker 1: in New York City,