Gov. Gregoire addresses the 4th Annual World Trade Center-Tacoma International Trade luncheon.

October 23, 2008

AS WRITTEN

Good afternoon, and thank you Steve for the kind introduction.

I�m always happy to be in this beautiful city. I�ve been here and in Pierce County so much lately that it�s becoming a second home.

If I keep it up, maybe I�ll run into my husband more often � since his work on behalf of veterans�

�And also your great golf courses mean Pierce County is his second home!

Among the visits, I was here three weeks ago to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Puyallup Land Claims Settlement.

And among the many successes we celebrated is the fact that the settlement laid the groundwork for the Puyallup Tribe to add to the Port of Tacoma�s already powerful position as a major player in global trade.

I�m talking about the Puyallup�s plan to open in 2012 a $300 million terminal on the Blair Waterway, to be operated by SSA Marine. This project will add another 2,500 jobs to Washington�s economy.

That good news comes atop the Port of Tacoma�s decision to build by 2012 a $300 million terminal on the east side of the Blair Waterway to be leased by the NYK line, which will bring Washington another 3,200 good-paying jobs.

I bring up these two projects to illustrate something very clear to me. Tacoma and Pierce County are, and will continue to be, at the heart of global trade in Washington.

As we all know, the global economy is in serious trouble � thanks to the melt down on Wall Street and the failure to police it -- along with the mortgage and credit crises.

But we�ll get through it � we always do � and we�ll emerge on the other side better positioned than ever to grow Washington�s diverse, trade-driven economy.

Just look at how far we�ve come in the past four years.

Led by aerospace industry sales, our exports rose to a record of nearly $67 billion last year.

In fact, our exports have doubled since 2004, and they have increased by more than 20 percent this year alone, despite the weakening global economy.

And here�s an amazing development. Our growers exported more product by July of this year than they exported all of last year!

And our success in the global marketplace is one reason Forbes Magazine now ranks us the 3rd best state in the nation to do business � up from 5th best place last year. Forbes� rival, Fortune Magazine, ranked us the 5th best state for small business.

I know the World Trade Center of Tacoma and its partners not only talk about the importance of international trade. You roll up your sleeves and get out there and get it.

One thing my mother taught me is that if you want something, you go for it, and I want you to know today that securing more trade for Washington businesses has been one of my top priorities in my four years in office.

Our dependence on trade is the reason I have led five trade missions to 10 different countries since I took office. And that�s not counting my annual trips to Canada. In fact, the Port of Tacoma was on two of my trade trips to Asia.

And these trips pay off.

When I went to Mexico two summers ago, I helped launch Aeromexico service between Seattle and Mexico City. And by the way, we were aboard a Boeing aircraft.

After we arrived, we were constantly moving between government agencies and private businesses � all to tout Washington products and to explain Washington�s vibrant place in international trade.

I�ve had the privilege in the past four years, to promote Washington agricultural products from cherries to potatoes in Tokyo, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney, and Mexico City.

I walk into a Costco or a large grocery store and the first thing I do is put on an apron. Then I start promoting cherries.

With the help of an interpreter, I explain to shoppers that I�m the Governor of Washington and I want them to have some of my state�s great cherries.

Shoppers are often startled at first, but when they find out what�s up, their eyes light up.

And the local press coverage we get from this kind of retail promotion is incredible!

I mentioned flying to Mexico on Aeromexico. The fact is -- If you�re going to do business abroad, you need to be able to get there easily.

That�s why we have worked to help establish new direct flights to five foreign capitals in the past few years � Beijing, Paris, Frankfort, Mexico City and London.

I don�t rely just on trade missions to promote trade. I�ve always got my eye open for opportunities.

Let me tell you about one of my favorites. At the Super Bowl � you know -- the one where we got robbed � I talked to a friend who is a friend of a principal of the Cameron Glass Company of Pennsylvania.

I used that connection�one thing led to another� and I came home knowing that if we did everything right, we could attract this company to Washington to build a wine-bottle factory.

We did everything right � using every tool in our economic development arsenal � and a year later, I helped the company break ground for a wine-bottle factory at the Port of Kalama � the first new bottle factory anywhere in the US in decades.

At the moment, Washington is suffering economic pain not of its making. The high cost of groceries and gas are not of our making. The mismanaged credit markets are not of our making. The mortgage crisis is not of our making.

But can you imagine what it would be like if we didn�t have the tremendous economic engine of international trade?

I can. And that�s why I�ll continue to embrace global trade rather than fight it. And that�s why I�ll keep working, across the aisle, across the state, and across the oceans.

Thank You