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Bush Administration Targets Tampa for Nationwide Pro-Trade Effort

At a kick-off event in Kansas City today, Evans said he will personally visit Tampa by year's end to carry the message that trade is crucial to the health and vitality of the nation's economy. His visit will be part of new national initiative that will take Evans and other senior officials from his department to all 50 states during President Bush's first term, educating businessmen and women, workers, and the next generation of entrepreneurs and workers about international trade's impact on our economy.

"New markets open new doors of opportunity for our businesses to grow and our workers to prosper," Evans said. "Trade offers a higher quality of life to Americans and people around the world who are our trading partners."

The most recent available figures show that in 1999 export sales from the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area totaled $2.4 billion up from $1.3 billion in 1993.

Free trade is among President Bush's top priorities. Evans said the 50-state initiative he launched today will spotlight the often-overlooked contributions trade makes. He pointed out that exports accounted for more than one-fifth of the nation's economic growth during the last decade. He also cited data showing that trade supports 12 million U.S. jobs, and that export-supported jobs pay as much as 18 percent more than the average wage.

In addition to Tampa, Evans tentatively plans to participate in trade education events before the end of this year in Orlando, Fla.; Little Rock, Ark.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Manchester, N.H.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Seattle and Spokane, Wash.; Des Moines, Iowa.