Post

Ag discussed during Japan trade mission

A member of Indiana’s ag industry who attended the recent Midwest US-Japan Conference says the Indiana delegation made sure the state’s agriculture sector was part of the conversation.

Beth Bechdol, with Indiana-based law firm Ice Miller, took part in the trade mission led by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb. She tells Brownfield while the mission focused on advanced manufacturing and the automotive sectors, agriculture wasn’t forgotten.

“It was pretty clear through all of through all of the discussions and all of the messaging that Indiana’s strengths really comes when you start thinking about the combination of the integration of our manufacturing, agriculture, ag processing, farming, and tech sector skills.”

With 280 Japanese-owned companies in Indiana, that employ 58,000 Hoosiers, Bechdol says Japan is an important economic partner for the state.

She says the trade mission highlighted the reasons Japan should continue its strong economic relationship with Indiana.

“I would expect that probably upon return it won’t take very long before you see some announcement that I think the state is actually working on now,” she says. “So that’s very exciting, but I also think you’ll start seeing a number of visitors making their way from Japan to Indiana.”

The delegation met with representatives from Subaru Corporation, Honda Motor Company, Mitsubishi Corporation, Toyota Industries Corporation, and more during the trade mission.

Governor Holcomb was one of five U.S. governors who attended the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference during the trade mission.

Audio: Beth Bechdol, Ice Miller 

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!