At the Wes Watkins Center for International Trade Development, a researcher might spend the morning helping a rural Oklahoma manufacturer move a product through customs and the afternoon modeling how an energy disruption in the Persian Gulf ripples toward Tokyo.

The distance between those problems is shorter than it looks.

Both begin with the same question: how does Oklahoma compete in a global economy?

The CITD supports the system in various ways, such as helping specialty food producers navigate European export regulations or collaborating on energy security with the Hamm Institute for American Energy at Oklahoma State University. The CITD also converts practical questions into applied research, and the answers flow back to businesses, students and public leaders who need them.

Championed by former Congressman Wes Watkins and founded in 1990, CITD helps Oklahoma products reach world markets while preparing students to lead in the global economy. Housed within OSU Global, CITD is an extension-focused center where local needs shape research agendas, and research returns practical value to the state.

The center advises companies ranging from first-time exporters to firms navigating tariff classifications, customs requirements and international market risk. It also works with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Global Oklahoma and other partners to strengthen Oklahoma’s trade capacity.

Those engagements shape CITD’s research agenda.

Recent publications include “Trading Up 2.0,” which documented Oklahoma’s rise to ninth nationally in gas turbine equipment exports, along with “Oklahoma Brain Drain Reversal” and “Supply Chain Chaos.”

Reflecting the university’s land-grant commitment to practical, statewide impact, this applied research model also powers major industry collaborations.

For Mark A. Stansberry’s monograph, “America Needs America’s Energy and Its Natural Resources,” Wes Watkins Global Trade Graduate Assistant Michael Johnson served as primary research author under CITD faculty and leadership oversight. The project established a shared foundation for later international energy-security work.

“The questions we encounter through our work with businesses and partners generate new research pathways,” CITD Director Andrew Ranson said. “The resulting insights strengthen our teaching, inform future engagement and give students opportunities to contribute to work with real-world relevance.”

That partnership now anchors the Trilateral Energy Security Committee. Through TESC, CITD and the Hamm Institute work with the Korea Energy Economics Institute and the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan to study shared energy-security challenges.

The partnership was launched after SK Innovation asked OSU to examine how the three countries could address shared energy risks. The committee also uses predictive simulations of global energy trade, expert interviews and economic analysis.

A recent report examined how a Strait of Hormuz disruption could affect global markets and how coordinated responses could reduce shared risks. TESC research was also featured at CERAWeek 2026, demonstrating how the Hamm Institute and OSU Global can turn international partnerships into research with real-world value.

CITD’s research program is closely connected to the School of Global Studies. Faculty, research staff and SGS students collaborate through research mentorship and applied projects that connect academic study with Oklahoma’s economic needs. This work has produced peer-reviewed studies with student authors, with additional projects underway.

Dr. John Schoeneman, assistant professor and CITD’s associate director for research, has co-authored two published studies with former students and is leading additional projects involving current and former students. One recent publication examined what drives U.S. manufacturers’ location decisions, a question with direct relevance for states competing for investment and jobs.

Students are central to the model.

The Wes Watkins Global Trade Graduate Assistantship program provides students with hands-on research and client-service experience. Graduates have translated that experience into careers across trade, finance, defense and technology.

“That experience made the transition from the classroom to industry seamless,” said Haley Helms, a recent graduate and Oklahoma native.

CITD starts with the questions businesses and public leaders are already asking. By turning those questions into applied research, the center supports better decisions, strengthens trade capacity, prepares students for global careers and gives Oklahoma a stronger foundation for trade-driven economic development.

Research Matters Magazine

Story By: Andrew Ranson and Hank Bennett | henry.bennett@okstate.edu