Philadelphia– Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett today during a visit to the Philadelphia Port Authority unveiled the fifth component of his jobs plan for Pennsylvania, Expanding Pennsylvania Worldwide a common-sense approach to international trade policy that positions Pennsylvania as a global leader and supports job creation statewide. 

“To make the commonwealth a global leader, we will partner with private industry to harness Pennsylvania’s resources and foster a business climate that says ‘yes’ to new jobs, ‘yes’ to certainty for employers and ‘yes’ to competition,” said Tom Corbett. “We must continue to grow our international presence and open new markets by expanding both our exports of goods and services and direct investment into the Commonwealth.”

More than 12,000 Pennsylvania companies sell their goods and services across international borders with total exports at more than $34 billion, making Pennsylvania the 11th largest exporting state. 

“As Governor, I will work to expand the commonwealth’s international trade opportunities and facilitate job growth by focusing on enhancing our foreign presence, penetrating new markets for small and mid-size company growth, selectively recruiting new companies to invest in the state and marketing Pennsylvania to the rest of the world,” said Corbett.

In order to grow Pennsylvania’s ports and intermodal assets, Tom Corbett will support deepening the Delaware River to 45 feet to enable our southeastern ports to compete internationally, improving our intermodal system to carry goods and services to and from the ports increasing imports and exports, and marketing the ports, rail and air domestically, to Pennsylvania businesses and manufacturers and internationally through the Commonwealth’s foreign trade offices.

As Governor, Tom will utilize the PA Office of International Business Development (OIBD) and the Team Pennsylvania Foundation (Team PA) to encourage export growth through providing direct export and market access assistance to Pennsylvania industries, and to build a network of PA-based international businesses to provide practical business-to-business market-specific guidance.

Tom Corbett’s plan will also enhance the existing efforts of OIBD, focusing on job growth in Pennsylvania through outreach to small and mid-sized companies and targeted recruitment of large employers.  In addition, the OIBD will be directed to develop strategic alliances with partner countries and regions around the world that are identified as growth hubs or emerging markets and develop complimentary trade relationships with Pennsylvania.

In addition to increasing the export of manufactured goods, Tom Corbett believes there is a great opportunity to increase the export of services provided by Pennsylvania-based employers.  With more than eighty percent of Pennsylvania jobs based on service providing industries, a modest increase in service exports would have a positive job creating impact. 

The job creation that follows from investments made by international companies helps to stabilize the economy and bring in new resources.  To further these types of opportunities, Tom Corbett will work with the OIDB and Team PA to promote Pennsylvania’s strengths as a compelling business location for international companies.

“Pennsylvania’s proximity to a large percentage of our country’s population makes it perfectly situated to be a national distribution center for international companies,” said Corbett.  “Through our highways and intermodal assets, we have an expansive infrastructure to serve as the foundation of our commerce, and Pennsylvania has a workforce that is prepared to meet the opportunity of a growing international economy.”

“Expanding Pennsylvania Worldwide,” which is available online, is the fifth component of Tom Corbett’s economic development and jobs plan for Pennsylvania.  The first four have been released and are available at www.TomCorbettforGovernor.com.   The full plan includes:

• Expanding Pennsylvania’s Economy Through Innovation
• Reforming Pennsylvania’s Jobs Climate
• Developing a World-class Workforce
• Growing Small Business in Pennsylvania
• Expanding Pennsylvania Worldwide
• Strengthening Pennsylvania’s Regional Economies
• Harnessing Entrepreneurial Leadership from Higher Education

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Paid for by Tom Corbett for Governor