New help for Delaware companies exporting products overseas [video]

The Port of Wilmington in Delaware.

The Port of Wilmington in Delaware. (Courtesy of Port of Wilmington)

The World Trade Center of Delaware’s efforts to help Delaware companies send their products and services around the globe is getting a helping hand from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

The World Trade Center of Delaware signed an agreement to partner with the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. to give local companies better access to financing when exporting products around the world. Leaders of both groups signed the agreement Friday morning in Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki’s office.

“EXIM bank is the official export credit agency of the United States, unlike our counterparts all over the world, our main function is to help sustain and grow US jobs through exports,” saiod Carla Stone, executive director of WTC-DE. “This partnership I believe will be very helpful to the revitalization of Wilmington and Delaware.”

Thanks to Delaware’s corporate-friendly laws, Wilmington has long been known for its role in hosting international companies. It’s a status Mayor Purzycki is eager to maintain. “It’s no secret the world is changing and our business community is changing as well, a reflection of a changing global marketplace,” Purzycki said. “The future for our city lies in attracting small businesses, small entrepreneurs that have better access to foreign trade today than ever before.”

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

As part of the agreement, the World Trade Center of Delaware will help local companies, especially small and medium-sized businesses, navigate the EXIM process for getting financing and insurance for foreign deals.

The growth of Delaware exports will help the state’s economy and reduce the need for continued cutting in the state budget, said State Sen. Harris McDowell, D-Wilmington North. “We used to have an economy that was very much oriented towards large businesses doing great things, and we’re in a time of change, and we need to find out how to operate and continue to build an economy in the new era.”

Companies that export their products around the world typically pay their employees more and grow faster than companies not playing in the international marketplace, Purzycki said. “Global trade in Wilmington will benefit our businesses, our residents, and certainly benefit, a measureable benefit to the future of the city of Wilmington.”

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal