WASHINGTON, D.C. — When the president of Northeast Pellets received a call from the nation’s Capitol last week inviting him to meet the president, he overnighted some pellets to the commander in chief and hit the road to D.C.
After President Trump’s recent signing of the softwood lumber agreement in the spring, Matt Bell sent his regards and applauded the president and asked if he would consider incorporating wood pellets in the agreement. This led to a call from the U.S. Trade Commission to Bell inviting him to a powwow with other independent small business owners.
The president of Northeast Pellets, Matt Bell, visited Washington, D.C. last week to talk business with President Trump.
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“It was pretty unbelievable,” Bell said. “The president was there, the vice president was there, the US Trade Commissioner and secretary of labor were there.”
Along with Bell and heads of state were folks representing a dozen other small businesses ready to have a round table discussion concerning American brand value.
“One of the big things was is there brand value with saying made in America or made in the U.S.A.,” Bell said.
President Trump shook hands with Bell and told him his administration wants to do the best they can for small businesses.
“It was a very relaxed atmosphere,” Bell said. “The president was joking and was very easy to talk to.”
Bell has an optimistic outlook for small businesses over the next four years. He said if the president can do a fraction of what he is saying he wants to do by bringing manufacturing jobs back to the country, it will be a bright future.
“I think the stock market right now is speaking volumes,” Bell said.
After his meeting with the president, Bell met with Senator Angus King along with attorneys involved with the softwood agreement.
“The primary focus of our conversation was the importation of goods coming from Canada,” Bell said. “King is supportive. He tasked his trade specialist to look into a few things on our behalf and making some calls and doing a little bit of ground work for us.”
Those calls will concern fair trade for folks in Bell’s line of work and whether or not there’s a need to petition tariffs to the nation’s trade court.
