The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program has selected the Portland region as one of four areas in the US for the development of an export strategy. The other three regions selected include: Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Syracuse.
Through this effort Brookings intends to:
1. Demonstrate that expanding exports can be an effective and critical component of a metro area’s economic and job growth strategy
2. Showcase a growing network of city and regional leaders who demonstrate the market sophistication, capacity and collaborations to develop and implement a metropolitan export plan; and
3. Reveal how state and federal policies and policies and programs, and private sector actions, can effectively align and support tailored metropolitan export plans.
Created in 1996, the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program provides trend analysis, research and policy ideas for improving the health and prosperity of cities and metropolitan areas. Brookings developed the Metropolitan Export Initiative in response to President Obama’s National Export Initiative which seeks to double U.S. exports by 2015.
The export plans will integrate market intelligence, export-related services, and policy reforms to help regions better connect their firms to global customers. Ideally, these export plans would also be elements of broader regional economic strategies. To supplement the metropolitan export plans, Brookings is conducting national research on export-related trends and performance, the role of foreign direct investment, and other key federal and state policies.
The Port is involved in the broader policy team and the core team and will assist in interviewing companies and providing feedback to Brookings, providing data of freight and export activity and reviewing and influencing the strategies. The effort will wrap up in December 2011.