The Port of Baltimore is one of the country's most efficient, and for Maryland manufacturers it is a genuine competitive advantage. The problem was never the port; it was that small firms did not know how to use it.

New grant programs now cover the unglamorous costs of going global: export compliance, freight forwarding, and trade-show presence. Logistics assistance pairs first-time exporters with people who have done it before.

Western Maryland manufacturers, far from the port geographically, are among the biggest beneficiaries. Distance matters less than know-how, and the know-how is now subsidized.