Decades after the rise of offshoring led North Carolina factory owners to ship jobs overseas \u2014 cratering the state\u2019s textiles and furniture industries in particular \u2014 state officials are in the latest stage of a push to convince foreign companies to invest in North Carolina, bringing factory jobs back to the state.<\/p>\n
Former Gov. Roy Cooper oversaw an economic development strategy<\/a> that saw companies promise to bring thousands of new jobs to North Carolina, with particularly strong interest from Japanese companies in a wide range of industries \u2014 Toyota, Fujifilm, Nipro and others.<\/p>\n In 2025, there has been a bipartisan effort by other top North Carolina politicians to continue following similar strategies. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein returned just days ago from a trip to Japan and Taiwan, where he met top business and government officials. And state Labor Commissioner Luke Farley, a Republican, is currently in Taiwan on a separate trip that he described Tuesday as a trade mission.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody I\u2019ve talked to this week, I\u2019ve made sure to let them know that North Carolina is open for business \u2014 and we have been named the No. 1 state in the country for business three of the last four years,\u201d Farley said, offering a variation on a message often spoken by Stein and the state\u2019s corporate recruiters.<\/p>\n The governor is the state official in charge of economic development strategy, while the labor commissioner\u2019s main focus is workplace safety. It wasn\u2019t clear Tuesday if Farley had told Stein or state economic development officials about his trip; spokespeople for Stein and Farley didn\u2019t immediately provide comment.<\/p>\n \u201cCommissioner Farley, I can\u2019t believe I didn\u2019t see you in Taiwan,\u201d Stein told Farley Tuesday after Farley said he was attending the meeting remotely from the island. \u201cI was there on Saturday. I just got back from a trip to Taiwan and Japan that was immensely successful.\u201d<\/p>\n But any additional publicity for North Carolina is welcome, Stein added, especially if it helps enhance the state\u2019s reputation in Asia. Stein teased a new economic development announcement coming \u201chopefully in the coming weeks\u201d out of his overseas trip but gave no further project details, which typically are veiled in strict secrecy.<\/p>\n \u201cNorth Carolina is very well-known over there,\u201d Stein said. \u201cOur brand is strong internationally. Folks know about us being a hub of biotech. They know about us being good for business. \u2026 A lot of agricultural interest. People like our North Carolina sweet potatoes in Japan. So it was a very productive and positive trip.\u201d<\/p>\n After Tuesday\u2019s meeting, WRAL asked Stein what benefits the state should be able to expect from his trip.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, good relations,\u201d Stein replied. \u201cJapan is the number-one source of foreign direct investment in North Carolina, both in terms of the amount of capital invested and the number of North Carolinians who go to work every day at a Japanese-owned company. So having those relationships \u2014 Japan is very much a place of relationships and trust. And there are a lot of companies that have existing locations [in North Carolina] that are considering expansion. There are other companies that are considering coming here afresh.\u201d<\/p>\n Industries such as pharmaceuticals and clean energy have so far contributed the biggest job-creation numbers in the state in recent years due to overseas investments.<\/p>\n Japanese drugmakers Kiowa Kirin and FujiFilm are investing billions in plants in Lee<\/a> and in Wake<\/a> counties, where workers research, test or manufacture new products.<\/p>\n And two of the state\u2019s biggest bets in recent years using economic incentives \u2014 essentially, tax breaks promised in exchange for new jobs \u2014 have been made to lure Asian automotive factories here. That includes a massive Toyota battery plant outside of Greensboro that\u2019s slated to begin production next week, with plans to eventually employ more than 5,000 North Carolinians.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnother deal \u2018in the near future\u2019?<\/p>\n