YOUNGSTOWN - The two top trade officials in the Obama Administration will be keynote speakers at the first TechBelt Export Summit noon to 4 p.m. June 18 at the Davis Center in Mill Creek MetroParks in Youngstown.
U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Francisco J. Sanchez and Fred Hochberg, chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., will speak at the summit, which is being hosted by the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber in recognition of the Mahoning Valley's recent designation as having the highest export growth in the United States in 2010.
"In putting this forum together, we really wanted to showcase how important exporting is to the Cleveland-Youngstown-Pittsburgh super-regional economy," said Eric Planey, the chamber's vice president for international business attraction.
Sanchez leads the International Trade Administration, which assists in the development of U.S. trade policy in the global economy; creates jobs and economic growth by promoting U.S. companies; strengthens American competitiveness across all industries; addresses market access and compliance issues; administers U.S. trade laws; and undertakes a range of trade promotion and trade advocacy efforts.
Hochberg will speak on the capabilities of the Ex-Im bank in assisting companies with financing their exports in many different industries. In 2011, Ex-Im's overall financing for the first time exceeded $32 billion and supported $40.6 billion in exports and approximately 290,000 export-related American jobs at more than 3,600 U.S. companies.
The event also will have two panel discussions.
For details and to register, call Jennifer Mascardine at 330-744-2131, Ext. 12, email jennifer@regionalchamber.com or go to the Regional Chamber's website www.regionalchamber.com and click on the events calendar.