Export plan already paying off

A concentrated effort to increase exports from the Wichita area is off to a solid start – though future growth could be hampered by protectionist moves in Washington, D.C., including opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The Wichita-South Central Kansas Regional Export Plan was developed last year as a key strategy for boosting the regional economy. The plan – which is a collaboration among Kansas Global Trade Services, public and private partners in the 10-county region and the Global Cities Initiative – seeks to diversify and significantly grow exports. Its goals include increasing non-aerospace exports by 30 percent in five years.

Last year, Wichita increased its exports by 6.8 percent – the third-highest growth rate of the nation’s top 100 metropolitan areas, according to a report by the Brookings Institute, one of the partners in the export plan. The 10-county region saw a 5.85 percent increase. All total, south-central Kansas generated $6.87 billion in exports last year, according to Kansas Global.

This growth bucked the rest of the country, which saw a decrease in exports last year.

Part of the export plan includes grants aimed at encouraging smaller businesses to explore international markets. That is generating encouraging results, too.

Twenty local companies received $85,000 in grants this year – along with other training and market-research support. This has already resulted in more than $25 million in increased exports, according to Kansas Global.

“This is hard data based on real companies successfully exporting more great products,” Karyn Page, CEO and president of Kansas Global, said in a statement.

A major challenge to meeting the region’s export goal could be efforts by President-elect Donald Trump and Congress to reject and renegotiate trade deals. This includes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries.

Trump opposes the TPP, and Congress has yet to approve it. But the agreement would benefit Wichita and Kansas.

For example, the TPP would eliminate most foreign tariffs on U.S. transportation equipment, including airplanes, which are currently as high as 25 percent. It also makes it easier for small businesses to access the global marketplace by streamlining standards and regulations.

Retreating toward protectionism could make it more difficult for Kansas farmers and businesses to sell their products to other countries – where 95 percent of the population lives. The global market also is where most of the economic growth is – which is expected to account for more than 80 percent of growth by 2020.

A key to growing our region’s economy – and local jobs – is increasing our exports. The export plan is doing that. Congress and Trump should help this effort, not sabotage it.

This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 5:04 AM with the headline "Export plan already paying off."