Trade Development

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The region’s economy is highly dependent on trade, with more than 40% of jobs tied to trade-related activities. Many world-famous companies call the region home, providing goods and services to communities around the world. However, recent trade policies have strained international relationships and negatively impacted regional exporters. The region must focus on strengthening trade relationships to support the export of regional goods and services.

One way that regional businesses connect to markets around the world is through tourism. Visitors travel to the region to attend arts and cultural events, visit recreational sites, and buy local goods. Tourists and visitors help support thousands of regional jobs. COVID-19 has disrupted these activities, devastating the region’s travel and tourism industry. In the first quarter after the onset of COVID-19, the state lost about half of tourism jobs compared the same period in 2019. Even before the pandemic, Washington was last in the nation for spending to promote tourism. To help regional businesses recover, state tourism marketing investments and efforts should be scaled up to meet this challenge.

Challenges and Opportunities

The region has identified the following key issues, opportunities, and challenges in sustaining the region’s economy:

The most internationally trade-tied region

With over 40% of jobs in the region tied to international trade, no other U.S. region is more tied to the international economy.

Branding regional companies

While there are many world-famous companies headquartered in the region, many people do not associate them with the region.

(New/Expanded) Improving trade policies

Improved trade policies are needed to offset the damage of recent trade wars on Washington exports.

(New/Expanded) Tourism suffering due to COVID-19

COVID-19 has devastated the state and region’s travel and tourism industry.

Strategic Response

The region has identified the following strategic focus areas for addressing identified challenges and opportunities:

Support and promote international trade and tourism

To ensure continued prosperity, the region needs to support robust connecting, marketing, and branding initiatives as well as trade policies that benefit the region’s trade economy.

Identified near-term actions:

  • Support efforts by the state Department of Commerce, regional ports, and others to connect the region and its companies to international markets.
  • Work to better educate regional businesses about resources to help them export and encourage them to do so.
  • Support continued public/private partnerships that expand international relations and increase the sharing of talent and information in the region.
  • Expand state tourism marketing efforts to raise the region’s profile for trade relationships and help recover from the impacts of COVID-19 on the regional tourism industry.
  • Promote understanding of international trade’s importance to the region, while working to mitigate the trade-offs from international trade.
  • Encourage federal leadership on trade policies and programs that benefit the region, including working to ensure that the U.S. Export-Import (EXIM) Bank operates at full capacity to support regional export businesses.

The region’s economy is highly dependent on trade, with more than 40% of jobs tied to trade-related activities. Many world-famous companies call the region home, providing goods and services to communities around the world. However, recent trade policies have strained international relationships and negatively impacted regional exporters. The region must focus on strengthening trade relationships to support the export of regional goods and services.

One way that regional businesses connect to markets around the world is through tourism. Visitors travel to the region to attend arts and cultural events, visit recreational sites, and buy local goods. Tourists and visitors help support thousands of regional jobs. COVID-19 has disrupted these activities, devastating the region’s travel and tourism industry. In the first quarter after the onset of COVID-19, the state lost about half of tourism jobs compared the same period in 2019. Even before the pandemic, Washington was last in the nation for spending to promote tourism. To help regional businesses recover, state tourism marketing investments and efforts should be scaled up to meet this challenge.

Challenges and Opportunities

The region has identified the following key issues, opportunities, and challenges in sustaining the region’s economy:

The most internationally trade-tied region

With over 40% of jobs in the region tied to international trade, no other U.S. region is more tied to the international economy.

Branding regional companies

While there are many world-famous companies headquartered in the region, many people do not associate them with the region.

(New/Expanded) Improving trade policies

Improved trade policies are needed to offset the damage of recent trade wars on Washington exports.

(New/Expanded) Tourism suffering due to COVID-19

COVID-19 has devastated the state and region’s travel and tourism industry.

Strategic Response

The region has identified the following strategic focus areas for addressing identified challenges and opportunities:

Support and promote international trade and tourism

To ensure continued prosperity, the region needs to support robust connecting, marketing, and branding initiatives as well as trade policies that benefit the region’s trade economy.

Identified near-term actions:

  • Support efforts by the state Department of Commerce, regional ports, and others to connect the region and its companies to international markets.
  • Work to better educate regional businesses about resources to help them export and encourage them to do so.
  • Support continued public/private partnerships that expand international relations and increase the sharing of talent and information in the region.
  • Expand state tourism marketing efforts to raise the region’s profile for trade relationships and help recover from the impacts of COVID-19 on the regional tourism industry.
  • Promote understanding of international trade’s importance to the region, while working to mitigate the trade-offs from international trade.
  • Encourage federal leadership on trade policies and programs that benefit the region, including working to ensure that the U.S. Export-Import (EXIM) Bank operates at full capacity to support regional export businesses.