Minnesota opens 7 foreign trade offices

Minnesota companies looking to market their products abroad will have new advocates in seven offices around the world.

The Minnesota Trade Office is opening international offices to represent the state’s companies in Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, the European Union and the ASEAN region (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Brunei), according to a Thursday press release from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The new offices, which will be operated by private contractors or consulting firms, will provide export promotion and assistance for companies and solicit investment from foreign companies interested in doing business in Minnesota.

A DEED spokesperson said the trade office had previously run international offices in Germany, Brazil and South Korea, under contracts that expired in June 2017. The new locations will be opened under one-year contracts, after which DEED will re-evaluate its locations and strategy.

In 2017, Minnesota exported $21 billion worth of goods to 203 different countries, according to DEED. Trade supports about 118,000 jobs in the state, and foreign-owned enterprises employ more than 100,000 Minnesotans.

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