Apr 01, 2008 - 04:05:03 CDT
Cynics have insinuated that the trade missions from North Dakota to countries far and wide are little but junkets and mere window-dressing. That's harsh and unjust. Markets have been established in Cuba and countries in the Orient. Contracts have been made.Perhaps critics should take note that two politicians with strong personalities and opposing party affiliations were able to work together for the good of the mission and the benefit of North Dakota agriculture, commerce and, lately, education.
Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Agriculture Secretary Roger Johnson, Republican and Democrat, respectively, cooperated in a trade mission to South Korea in March. The 25-member delegation was in Korea not only to drum up business but also notably for three higher education institutions to forge ties with Korean counterparts, in the hope of having partnership in programs and encouraging Korean students to attend Dickinson State University, the University of North Dakota or Jamestown College, and to have students from the schools experience higher education in South Korea.
The politics of presence is much more than window-dressing. It must have been received as a demonstration of respect that Dalrymple and Johnson were on site to urge the Korean government's lifting of an embargo on U.S. beef.
It was an excellent show of business collegiality for the North Dakota delegation to make the effort, bear the expense and take the time to be present in the country of Doosan Corp., now the parent company of North Dakota's Bobcat Co.
Some nice sales of North Dakota ag production are in the works or are open as possibilities because of the trade mission. North Dakota commodities ranging from flax to soybeans to processed hot dogs and bacon might have new markets in South Korea.
And there's at least one done deal. Roll-a-Ramp, a West Fargo manufacturer, has a customer in Hyundai Rotim, South Korea's maker of railroad passenger cars, for a custom ramp that would allow its railcars to be handicapped accessible.
North Dakota must grow into being an increasingly active participant in the global economy. Trade missions are instrumental.
The state has developed a $2 billion annual export industry. That's up 225 percent since 2000. Imagination suggests what the future could hold. The markets are so much more diverse that North Dakota could serve, not just sending shiploads of wheat.
When you imagine peat from our state ending up in a Korean golf course or North Dakota-originated sleep therapy helping Koreans, it makes you realize this isn't your father's trade deal.
We say, let trade missions proliferate and prosper. Let them go to the four corners of the earth. A blessing be on the next trade mission's head. Where should it go? To Nigeria, perhaps? Turkey?
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