Federal Grant to Help World Trade Center Arkansas Promote State Exports

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WTCA president W. Dan Hendrix accepting the federal Economic Development Administration Department grant

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The World Trade Center Arkansas has received a $400,000 federal grant from the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The grant is one of three announced during a news conference Friday, Aug. 12, at the World Trade Center Arkansas headquarters in Rogers. EDA officials also announced grants to Benton County and the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.

The WTCA grant will be used to promote International agricultural and business trade in Arkansas counties hit by natural disasters last winter.

“The World Trade Center Arkansas is doing an outstanding job boosting the Arkansas economy by promoting trade,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “Since late 2013 they’ve generated more than $40 million in new and expanded trade revenue for businesses in our state. I’m excited to see what this new grant will enable them to accomplish.”

W. Dan Hendrix, president and CEO of the Center said the EDA grant will be used to boost the economies of Arkansas counties that were declared disaster areas this year, in addition to expanding Arkansas exports statewide.

 “In February President Obama declared 38 Arkansas counties federal disaster areas, the result of floods, tornadoes, and storms last winter,” said Hendrix. “In addition to the personal loss, these disasters drain local governments and businesses of time and money. The EDA has grants specifically aimed at disaster recovery and the Center can use these funds to help farmers and businesses in these counties expand their access to global markets for their products.”

Hendrix pointed out two recent examples:

• The WTCA helped Tyson Foods and Simmons Foods secure an order for 4,500-tons of chicken from Cuba. Much of this chicken will be raised and then processed will be in counties that were hit by heavy flooding.
• The Center is negotiating to sell rice grown in the Arkansas Delta to Cuba.

Hendrix said the EDA grant will help ensure the success of these and future foreign trade deals.

The center’s partnership with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission provides trade services to the state for expanding exports for Arkansas’s small business concerns in conjunction with the Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce Export Assistance Office.  In addition the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District is a critical collaborator with the World Trade Center.

In its first decade of operations in Arkansas, the WTCA has increased exports from Arkansas by nurturing businesses ready to engage in international trade and helping them navigate the complicated labyrinth of trade rules and customs.

The center’s services include education, one-on-one consultations, trade shows, trips to foreign markets, access to unparalleled economic-development networks, export workshops, and translation services.

The center sends trade specialists with business owners on foreign sales trips and trade missions, as well as providing access to foreign buyers visiting Arkansas. The WTCA also organizes business-to-business meetings, Gold Key services, shipping products to trade shows or foreign markets, website updates, and market research.

These and additional services have made business owners more savvy, confident, and effective in foreign trade and the number of businesses exporting Arkansas products continues to increase.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.