PHOTO: Trade Missions and International Visitors

We must think of ourselves not as a state, but as a small nation.”

Trade Missions and International Visitors

Governor Gregoire knows that in order to be globally competitive, we must think of Washington not as a state, but as a small nation. She leads trade missions of business, education, agriculture and community leaders to develop opportunities that make Washington more competitive in the global market. She opens doors to foreign officials and foreign companies to help eliminate trade barriers and provide an introduction to potential buyers of Washington products and services. She welcomes foreign dignitaries to our state to show off our high-quality crops, products and services and build the relationships that make our state the most trade dependent state in the nation.
Governor Gregoire’s trade missions have resulted in:

  • $12 million in new business from Europe for Washington companies;

  • Expansion or relocation of five European aerospace supplier operations to Washington;

  • Relocation of a South Korean biotech company’s U.S. headquarters to Lacey, which has ultimately generated about 300 jobs in the South Puget Sound region;

  • $300,000 in new sales to China and Japan for Washington companies;

  • $500,000 in new food sales to Korea and Taiwan;

  • Promotion of Washington agricultural products in overseas stores;

  • Encouragement of stricter enforcement of intellectual property rights in meetings with foreign officials, which is an especially important issue to Washington companies which incur billions in lost sales each year as a result of the sale of illegally copied products;

  • Meeting with high level foreign officials to press for the elimination of trade barriers that limit the exports of Washington apples, asparagus, beef, cherries, coffee, kraft linerboard, nectarines, peaches, pears, potato products, tree fruit and wine, as well as other products;

  • Promotions of Washington state as a destination for foreign tourists;

  • Agreements to expand education programs by our colleges and universities in Asia;

  • Agreements with British Columbia, Canada to expand cross-border trade and tourism; and

  • Agreements with Queensland, Australia to share bio-tech information and research.