Governor Hoeven's Six Pillars
North Dakota Trade Office - Doubling Our Investment in Foreign Trade
» Economic Development
» Tax Relief
» Workforce Development
Bringing North Dakota to the World
As North Dakota grows and expands its economic base, we need to look not just beyond the borders of our state, but beyond the shores of our nation for new markets. It doesn't matter whether we're talking about food, energy, or goods and services. To truly succeed, we must continue to develop markets and trading partners around the country and around the world.
Because of our stepped up efforts, North Dakota exports have made real inroads overseas.
- North Dakota exports doubled over a five-year period, growing from $625 million in 2000, to nearly $1.2 billion in 2005.
- State exports are growing at a rate of 18 percent a year - nearly twice the national pace.
- In dollars and cents, the 40 North Dakota businesses that participated in our trade missions in 2005 and 2006 will see an additional $48 million in export sales.
- Our 20 founding private-sector partners have seen a 35 percent increase in annual exports, compared to 10 percent for the nation.
To continue to drive our efforts to open overseas markets, we have doubled our investment in the North Dakota Trade Office to $1.4 million. A private-sector, public-sector partnership, the NDTO is helping North Dakota businesses initiate and expand sales all over the world. Our trade office partners include commodity producers and manufacturers of ag equipment, medical equipment, aircraft parts, processed foods, and environmental systems.
These successes were made in more than a dozen countries, including China, Russia, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand - virtually all over the world. The simple truth of the matter is this: North Dakota must stand ready to compete - with anyone, anytime, anywhere.
For more information about how the trade office can help you bring your products and services to the world, visit the North Dakota Trade Office Web site at www.ndto.com.
