Washington is the
largest exporter of goods on a per capita basis in the entire nation. Last
week, Governor Gregoire announced that we set a record
in 2011 by exporting a whopping $64.6 billion worth of products! That’s a 21
percent increase over the previous year.
Approximately four
percent of Washington companies export, compared to a national average of one
percent. One in three jobs in Washington state are tied to trade, either
directly or indirectly.
Our biggest market is
China with exports rising to $11.2 billion, 9% more than 2010. But the $6.4
billion we export to Europe aren’t too shabby either.
The goal of Gov.
Gregoire’s Washington Export Initiative launched in 2010 was
to increase state exports by 30 percent by 2015. The State’s Department of
Commerce says we’re right on track to get there. At the rate we’re going,
Washington could very well be exporting up to $100 billion in goods by 2017!
To read this story in Spanish, click here.
To read this story in Spanish, click here.
