By : Cara Bayles
Source : http://www.houmatoday.com
Category : Small Business Grant
State and local officials agree that the Houma-Thibodaux area is ready to grow its international exporting portfolio.
Louisiana is already an epicenter for trade in the U.S., ranking seventh in the nation for exports, and it continues to grow.
The state’s international merchandise exports totaled $55.12 billion in 2001, increasing by 33.3 percent over 2010’s numbers, according to the World Trade Center in New Orleans.
“Houma-Thibodaux is a very large exporting region, primarily because of the oilfields. It’s one of the largest users of credit finance in the state for that reason as well,” said Donald van de Werken, director of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in New Orleans. “That’s why Thomas Jefferson bought New Orleans. Water transportation is still one of the cheapest, fastest ways to get goods to market. There’s no secret to this; it’s been going on for years.”
In August, Terrebonne Parish was designated a foreign trade zone, exempting the area’s airport and port from taxes on certain imports and exports. The federal government has given the state thousands of dollars in small-business grants. And on Tuesday, the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority voted in favor of recommending the Parish Council approve a plan to enter into an economically motivated sister-city partnership with Weihai, China.
That plan, backed by Parish President Michel Claudet, is intended to develop trade relationships for small businesses in the parish. Claudet, who has exchanged emails with Weihai officials, called their responses “encouraging.”
Source : http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20120318/ARTICLES/120319617
