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Having recently won the President’s “E” Award for Export Service, the state of Alabama is about to host the 11th Annual SEUS/Canadian province (CP) Alliance conference in Mobile, June 3-5.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross presented the award, the highest recognition for contributing to the expansion of U.S. exports, at a ceremony in Washington on May 21. The secretary praised the state for exporting in 2017 a record $21.7 billion in goods and services to 189 foreign countries.
Hilda Lockhart, director of the Alabama Commerce Department’s Office of International Trade, said in a statement “The Alabama International Trade program has proven to be a tremendous resource for the state’s small and medium-sized companies. Assisting them in finding international markets for Alabama-made products is the key to growing exports and jobs at home. Receiving this prestigious award validates the hard work that all members of the Export Alabama Alliance have accomplished since it was formed in 2004.”
Alabama’s commitment to international trade is to be further underscored June 3-5 at the Mobile conference designed to enhance economic ties and encourage technological and scientific exchanges between six Southeastern states and seven Canadian provinces — Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.
Canada is the largest customer for the Southeast, and each of the six Southeastern states — Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, maintain a trade surplus with the country.
Georgia exported $6.2 billon and imported $4.2 billion worth of goods from Canada in 2017, according to Diane Aleva Caceras, CEO of Market Access International Inc., who is arranging meetings meant to implement market entry and expansion strategies on behalf of the companies at the conference.
It is the first time since the inception of SEUS-CP in 2007 that Alabama has hosted the conference. This year’s theme “Shared Values for a Prosperous Future” will continue the tradition of developing common strategic goals and opening doors for businesses from the member provinces and states.
As in the past, the conference will address larger themes such as the impact of digital and physical technologies on transforming the participants’ economies and the future market for electric vehicles as well as more specific trade and investment developments.
An important part of the Mobile conference will be devoted to exploring potential commercial exchanges, two-way trade and investment and knowledge sharing between and among member states and provinces.
Business-to-business opportunities also will be discussed among the attendees in the fields of transportation, information and communication technologies (ICT), and energy.
To learn more about the Mobile conference, click here.
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