Export Growth Benefits South Carolina Companies
August 13, 2012
Six month 2012 South Carolina merchandise exports are up 4 percent over same period last year
WASHINGTON – August 13, 2012 – The International Trade Administration(ITA) recently announced new export data that shows South Carolinamerchandise exports increased 4 percent in the first half of 2012compared to the same period in 2011, growing from $12.6 billion to $13.0billion.
“Exports are an increasingly important part of South Carolina’s economicrecovery as local businesses both big and small start to look beyondour borders to increase their customer base,” said Francisco Sánchez,Under Secretary for of Commerce for International Trade. “TheInternational Trade Administration is committed to helping SouthCarolina businesses leverage financing and other key resources to boostexports that support thousands of good, high-paying jobs across thestate. I encourage companies to contact our local U.S. CommercialService offices to find out about new export opportunities and theresources available to them.”
South Carolina’s first half 2012 merchandise export sales outpaced the2011 figures for the same period in many top destinations, includingIraq (up 61 percent), Japan (55 percent), Brazil (23 percent), SaudiArabia (10 percent), and Canada (10 percent). Key merchandise exportcategories include transportation equipment, machinery manufactures,chemicals, plastics, and computer and electronic products.
“The growth in South Carolina export numbers help demonstrate thatthere’s every incentive for U.S. companies to be pursuing exportopportunities,” said Dorette Coetsee, Director of the U.S. CommercialService in Columbia. “Foreign buyers have a high appreciation for U.S.brand name products and services, and there’s no better time than now tostart exporting. We’d like to help you with your exporting efforts.”
Since 2009, ITA has assisted approximately 15,000 U.S. companies recordnearly 47,000 export successes. These results supported the 9.7 millionAmericans employed by export-related jobs in 2011, an increase of 1.2million jobs since 2009.
For more information on exporting, contact the U.S. Commercial Service in Colombia at (803) 777-2571 or visit www.export.gov/Southcarolina. Businesses can also order the Basic Guide to Exporting available at www.export.gov/basicguide.
International Trade Administration
The International Trade Administration (ITA) is the premier resource forAmerican companies competing in the global marketplace. ITA has 2,400employees assisting U.S. exporters in more than 100 U.S. cities and 72countries worldwide. For more information on ITA visit www.trade.gov.
