News Releases for August 2002
August 14, 2002
For further information, please Contact the Governor's Office
Hoeven Promotes International Trade Efforts
BISMARCK, N.D. - Governor John Hoeven is hosting a September conference in Fargo for North Dakota export businesses and those who want to enter the export business. The statewide conference is just one of the strategies the governor and the Department of Commerce are implementing to help North Dakota businesses expand into foreign markets.
Governor’s International Trade Conference - Global Business: North Dakota Style will be held Sept. 23-24 at Fargo’s Ramada Plaza Suites.
“A conference focusing on international trade will allow business leaders the opportunity to network with service providers and business peers who are already successful in the global marketplace,” Hoeven said. “We hope this conference will ignite interest in doing business overseas.”
The Department of Commerce, the N.D. District Export Council, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), and the Agricultural Products Utilization Commission (APUC) will jointly sponsor this Export North Dakota event. MEP and APUC are programs within the Department of Commerce Division of Economic Development & Finance.
A special APUC grant will allow MEP to provide one-on-one assistance to businesses following the conference. “This is an innovative use for this money and another example of how we are doing things differently in economic development,” Hoeven said.
The conference sponsors are also working together to create an export resource database, which will be made available to the public on a searchable database on the Export North Dakota, Department of Commerce and other web sites.
The database will serve as a technical resource for companies needing assistance with specific international trade issues. For example, it will contain information on where to find export documentation, export finance options, export shipping information, people who have expertise on certain countries and cultures, and even North Dakotans who speak foreign languages and are willing to facilitate communications.
“Working together we can help North Dakota businesses develop markets across the globe,” Hoeven said. “We are taking economic development and jobs creation to the next level.”
Besides manufacturers and food processors, September’s conference program will appeal to agricultural producers, business service providers such as accountants and attorneys, and economic development professionals. Programs are planned covering international marketing strategies, export procedures, finding agents and distributors, writing agent and distributor contracts, ag export assistance programs, and international credit and banking.
On the first day of the conference, the N.D. MEP will conduct a half-day workshop called “Market Development - How to Find New Customers and Markets” for all North Dakota manufacturers. The workshop will be followed by technical assistance that afternoon and on the second day of the conference.
Other half-day workshops are “Essence of Electronic Commerce,” which includes web site marketing, online market research and e-commerce tools and resources. Another half-day workshop targeted towards food processors is called “Marketing Your Food Products.” Those agricultural, value-added manufacturing businesses that participate in either of these workshops will also have access to follow-up technical assistance from N.D. MEP the following day.
At Monday night’s banquet Governor Hoeven will recognize a North Dakota business as the North Dakota Exporter of the Year.
North Dakota business people who are finding success in the export market will participate in a panel discussion the second day. The day will also feature sessions on international marketing strategies, export procedures, export marketing on the Internet, finding agents and distributors, writing agent and distributor contracts, ag export assistance programs, international credit and banking and a session specific to value-added organic ag products.
Hoeven and Dan Renberg, a member of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), will speak at the Tuesday, September 24 lunch. The two will also hold a ceremonial signing to mark the beginning of a contract between Ex-Im Bank and the Department of Commerce, establishing the Department of Commerce as the marketing agent for Ex-Im Bank in North Dakota.
Ex-Im - as part of the Export North Dakota program and in cooperation with the Department of Commerce, the N.D. District Export Council, the N.D. Department of Agriculture, Minot State University, the Bank of North Dakota, Bremer Banks and the Small Business Administration - has already been conducting export finance seminars in North Dakota for businesses, bankers, accountants, attorneys and other business consultants.
Register for the conference online at www.exportnd.com, or call Export North Dakota in Fargo at 701-237-0986 or LAS International in Bismarck at 701-222-8331.
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