Oh-Pa Stateline Export Initiative Launches Website
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The website for the Oh-Pa Stateline Export Intitiative, a partnership that involves 10 counties in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania ,went live Tuesday, Sarah Boyarko announced yesterday.
Boyarko is the chamber vice president for business expansion. The initiative is described as “the culmination of six months of planning spearheaded by” the Ohio International Trade Assistance Center at Youngstown State University and the Regional Chamber.
The website is OhPaExports.com.
In making the announcement, Boyarko said the counties and the economic development organizations within the 10 counties “position the [Mahoning and Shenango] valleys economy to reach new levels.”
Joining her in making the announcement was Mousa Kassis, adviser for the International Trade Assistance Center at YSU.
The counties involved are Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana in Ohio and Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Lawrence, Butler and Beaver in Pennsylvania.
The region has much to build on, Boyarko said, citing these “international trade milestones”:
- The Mahoning Valley led the nation in export growth from 2009 to 2012, according to Business Facilities Magazine and the Brookings Institute, exporting more than $4.7 billion in goods, a 22% increase from 2009 to 2012. Another $1.2 billion of goods were exported worldwide.
- It ranked fifth in the United States in exports recovery. The Youngstown-Warren metro area exports approximately one quarter of its goods worldwide.
Marek Gootman, director of strategic partnerships and global initiatives at the Brookings Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., endorsed the export initiative, writing, “[It] shows a strong commitment to expanding global economic reach through the identification of regionally competitive strengths and an increase in exports. Drawing on data and best practices from the Global Cities Initiative, a join project of the Brookings Institution and JP Morgan Chase, this is the kind of innovative action needed to ensure the long-term economic success of businesses in the 10-county area that are interested in expanding to local markets.”
SOURCE: Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
