International Trade

• The center of the Southeastern U.S., the fastest-growing economic region in the country.
  
• More than 200 foreign-based manufacturers from 25 countries, representing approximately seven billion dollars in capital investment.
  
• The state's top export products include: 1) chemicals, 2) paper, 3) transportation equipment, 4) electric/electronic equipment, and 5) industrial machinery. Forest products make up the largest single category of Alabama exports.
  
• Alabama Development Office offers trade promotion services to Alabama manufacturers, including:
  
  • participation in overseas catalog shows, trade shows, and trade missions
    
  • opportunities to meet one-on-one with foreign buyers visiting Alabama
    
  • a listing in the Alabama International Trade Directory, a publication that is disseminated worldwide
    
• Public/private grant program designed to assist Alabama companies in expanding export activities through participation in foreign trade shows and missions, available to Alabama companies.
  
• Alabama Development Office representative offices located in Hannover, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; and Seoul, South Korea, are available to lend assistance whenever possible to Alabama manufacturers.
  
• Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama is a gateway to the rapidly growing markets in Mexico, Central America and South America. The state is capitalizing on NAFTA through participation in such agreements as the States of the Gulf of Mexico Initiative, a regional effort designed to promote economic, educational and cultural exchanges between Mexican and U.S. states lining the Gulf.
  
• The Alabama World Business Center, located in Birmingham, functions as a clearinghouse or "one-stop shop" for export assistance, bringing all of the state's major trade promotion organizations together. Organizations with offices at the Business Center include the Alabama Development Office, the Alabama International Trade Center, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Alabama State Docks and the Japan-America Society of Alabama.
  
• Additional export assistance available through a number of non-profit trade associations, chambers of commerce, customhouse brokers, foreign freight forwarders and honorary consulates.
  
• Four Alabama banks provide complete international banking services for companies located in Alabama and throughout the Southeast.
  
• The Alabama State Docks Department operates a full-service port on the Mobile River, 33 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Facilities are available for handling all types of ocean-going vessels with up to 45-foot drafts. Over 190 shipping lines serve the Port of Mobile.
  
• There are five Foreign Trade Zones and numerous subzones currently operating in Alabama. The Zones are located in Anniston, Huntsville, Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery.

For additional information, please visit www.ado.state.al.us/trade.htm.  

Source: Alabama Economic Development Partnership