The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) today announced new export data that shows merchandise exports from the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area totaled a record $56.7 billion, an increase of 13 percent or $6.4 billion from 2012 to 2013. This growth helped the region remain a top metropolitan area for exports in 2013.
The Department of Commerce is dedicated to assisting U.S. firms meet the needs of global consumers while strengthening our economy and supporting jobs throughout the metropolitan area and our nation, said Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan M. Selig. U.S. companies of all sizes are exploring the possible benefits of exporting, and looking beyond our borders to expand their customer base. More than 95 percent of potential consumers live outside the United States and crave the world-class products offered by American businesses.
According to international trade figures released today by ITA, 156 U.S. metropolitan areas exported more than $1 billion in merchandise in 2013. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is one of 33 metropolitan areas with merchandise exports worth more than $10 billion. Thirty-three of the top 50 metropolitan areas for exports registered positive growth between 2012 and 2013 – with 26 reaching record export levels.
Key merchandise export categories for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area in 2013 included computer and electronic products, fishing, hunting, and trapping, machinery, miscellaneous manufactures, and transportation equipment. China, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates were the leading destinations for the region's exports.
Metro area exporters continue to ramp up their international sales with quality, made-in-the-USA products, said Diane Mooney, Director of the U.S. Commercial Service/Seattle. By selling internationally, many of these exporters are better able to weather changes in the economy while building their global competitiveness.
The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration works with American businesses of all sizes to identify export opportunities for their products and services to bolster President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI). A focus of the NEI is helping metropolitan areas identify regional strengths in order to increase their exports, boost the local economy, and create jobs for American workers.
For more information on exporting, contact the U.S. Commercial Service Export Assistance Center in Seattle at (206)553-5615 ext.236 or visit here.
For more information on the impact of Metropolitan Statistical Areas on U.S. exports, including fact sheets for the top 50 exporting MSAs in 2013, visit here.
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