03 Implementing Virginia’s First Comprehensive International Trade Plan

Implementing Virginia’s First Comprehensive International Trade Plan

In November 2019, Governor Northam unveiled the first-ever comprehensive International Trade Strategic Plan (ITSP) for Virginia, laying out an ambitious strategy to help Virginia’s businesses become stronger, more resilient, and more competitive in the international marketplace. With a goal of growing the Commonwealth’s exports by 50% over the next 15 years, the plan calls for expanding the reach and impact of VEDP’s existing trade development programs and attracting new export-intensive companies to Virginia. To prepare for full implementation of the plan, VEDP’s International Trade division and its partners embarked on a number of foundationsetting initiatives in FY21.

To ensure the continuation of the multi-agency alliance that was instrumental in developing the ITSP, VEDP convenes a quarterly meeting with staff at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, The Port of Virginia, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the Virginia Tourism Corporation. These regular meetings are critical to maintaining communication between trade-focused partners, sharing updates on traderelated matters, and identifying opportunities for collaboration that can lead to improved trade outcomes for Virginia. Dialogue with Virginia’s congressional delegation is also critical to ensure that Virginia’s federal representatives and state leaders are communicating regularly on topics that impact the Commonwealth’s trade outcomes.

To enhance Virginia’s highly regarded trade development programs, the VEDP International Trade team conducted work on two client-focused initiatives outlined in the ITSP. To assist Virginia businesses in evaluating their ability to pursue international sales, VEDP is constructing an online export readiness assessment tool that will allow companies to consider their preparedness in key export-related areas. International Trade is also now supplying resources to Virginia companies related to supply chain management and imports.

These activities represent important progress in establishing a foundation for the comprehensive initiatives laid out in the ITSP. In preparation for receiving initial funding for the plan in FY22, VEDP also made progress in developing plans to introduce a new supply chain program for clients in the coming year, as well as to expand other key existing offerings, such as the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade Program (VALET). VEDP looks forward to continuing progress on these initiatives and implementing new initiatives to achieve the significant goals of the ITSP.

PARTNER AGENCIES:

Norfolk International Terminals, Norfolk Virginia Beer Company, York County

Tara Laughlin is a Boeing Scholar at Virginia Tech, working toward her master’s degree in computer science at the university’s new Innovation Campus at National Landing in Alexandria. Corporate support is vital to the Tech Talent Investment Program, a state-wide performance-based grant program that will double the number of graduates in computer science and related fields across Virginia.

Receiving a scholarship to go back to school is something I will always be grateful for. My goal is to create a movement in the tech industry to focus on accessibility and inclusion, which is why I am pursuing my masters in computer science with a concentration in human-computer interaction. Having this scholarship empowers me to focus on learning and use my skills to implement the kind of software that can help people.