State plans trade mission for May

By MATTHEW FRENCH
Staff Writer

South Carolina exporters looking to cash in on the exporting game have a new avenue through which they can pursue business opportunities. Announced last month, the “Export South Carolina” program aims to increase export sales by the state’s small- and medium-size businesses.

The Palmetto State was one of 10 states to be selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to participate in an export program, which promotes exports to countries with which America has a free-trade agreement. South Carolina’s program will focus on Chile.

The program was made possible because the U.S. Chamber of Commerce received a Market Development Cooperator Program grant from the Commerce Department. The grant says the Commerce Department would match one dollar for every two dollars spent by the U.S. Chamber to focus on states benefiting from free-trade agreements. Free-trade agreements determine that trade between nations can take place without protective customs tariffs.

“We decided to focus on Chile because we’d already planned a trade mission to Chile for later this year,” says Amy Thompson, international trade manager for the Americas for the South Carolina Department of Commerce. “We had signed a free-trade agreement with Chile last year, so we went ahead and planned the trade mission, and then this opportunity came along.”

Thompson says South Carolina had already established a good relationship with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and had developed a good reputation as a state with many resources available to companies looking to export. She says the number of exporting entities that work together throughout the state makes the state a good candidate for export programs.

“We’re a small state and have a very good exporting network set up throughout South Carolina,” she says.

Export South Carolina adopts a three-pronged approach designed to educate small- and medium-size businesses about opportunities in Chile, and will then provide assistance as needed in setting up trade missions or contacts.

“The first thing we focus on is trade education,” Thompson says. “Then our export assistance partners work together with the company to do research for those exploring the exporting market. And third, our U.S. export assistance centers organize trade missions where they can set up networking events and appointments.”

Chile apparently wanted to sign a free-trade agreement with the United States when the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed into law, but no FTA was signed until 2003. By comparison, Canada signed an FTA with Chile in 1997 and the European Union in 2002.

Gov. Mark Sanford says the state’s small- and mid-size businesses, which make up the vast majority of employers in the state, are the foundation on which South Carolina’s economy is built, and adding exporting avenues increases their ability to make revenue.

“Ninety-five percent of companies in South Carolina employ 50 or fewer people, so obviously anything we can do as an administration to expand export horizons for them is critical. This is a global economy and if we’re going to compete globally, these are precisely the kind of economic relationships we’ve got to do our best to maximize,” Sanford says. 

Chile exports a number of agricultural and other food items into the United States, most notably salmon, wine and fresh produce, but also deals in apparel and copper.

In 2004, North America trailed both Europe and Asia in exporting goods to Chile, which imports about $23 billion of goods per year. For South Carolina companies, however, the interest is in what Chile consumes.

“South Carolina has a good advantage because we are a big exporter of plastics, and Chile is a huge user of plastics,” Thompson says. “The same holds true for wood and paper products.”

In fact, South Carolina plastics exports to Chile increased 580% and paper products increased 1,800% between 2003 and 2004, according to state Commerce Department statistics.

And exporting is becoming a much larger part of the South Carolina economy. The weak U.S. dollar means foreign companies and countries can buy American goods for less. American companies are realizing the global market can nearly infinitely expand their consumer base, so finding locations into which companies can sell is of paramount importance. 

“Businesses that export are more competitive, pay higher wages and experience faster growth,” says Commerce Secretary Bob Faith.

“We want as many of our companies as possible to experience the benefits of international trade, and Export South Carolina will help our trade folks at Commerce spread the word about all the ways they can help South Carolina businesses become players in the global marketplace.”

Thompson says the Commerce Department is planning its trade mission to Chile in early May, and programs such as Export South Carolina can help put small- and medium-sized businesses on a level playing field with their larger competitors.

“We open doors that might not otherwise be opened,” she says. “The idea in a big picture is to promote free and fair trade.”

Matthew French covers imports and exports for the Business Journal. E-mail him at mfrench@crbj.com.

South Carolina and Chile: By the numbers

South Carolina has tighter ties to the South American nation of Chile than most people realize. Below are some trade stats that show the importance of Chile to this state’s export economy.

• In 2004, South Carolina exported $69 million worth of goods and services to Chile, a 92% increase over the previous year.

• South Carolina plastics exports to Chile increased 580% and paper products increased 1,800% from 2003 to 2004.

• Two companies in the Lowcountry are Chilean-owned: TerraNova and Briggs Plumbing/CISA.

There are great prospects for South Carolina companies that supply products for manufacturing (machinery, components, raw materials) and food processing and packaging, as well as pollution control products/systems.

The trade mission to Chile is scheduled for May 1-5. For more information on exporting to Chile, call the S.C. Chamber of Commerce at (803) 799-4601.

Source: South Carolina Department of Commerce

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