Appalachia USA Delegation Attends Shanghai Trade Event

From September 14 to 17, 2011, a 27-member delegation representing Appalachian furniture and wood product businesses attended a major trade event in Shanghai, China. The trip was supported by Appalachia USA, an ARC initiative aimed at expanding export sales in the Appalachian Region. Coordinated for ARC by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, with strong support from the Mississippi Development Authority and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, the delegation generated over $36 million in new Appalachian export sales.

Appalachia USA is overseen by ARC's Export Trade Advisory Council, which includes representatives from the 13 Appalachian states, the Office of the ARC Federal Co-Chair, and the U.S. Commercial Service. Appalachia USA provides ARC funds to help delegations of Appalachian business interests attend trade events in the largest and fastest growing markets in the world, including Western and Central Europe, Latin and South America, and Asia.

In October 2011, an Appalachia USA delegation is bound for China and Mongolia to promote the Region's mining equipment, technology, and services sector; and planning is now underway for an Appalachia USA delegation to attend the 2012 Trade Winds International Business Forum scheduled for mid-May 2012 in Singapore. Since 2005, nearly 300 Appalachia USA delegation members have promoted export sales for nearly 200 businesses from across the Region, helping expand sales and the jobs these sales create and sustain.

ARC Export and Trade Development