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Professional Development
SIDO holds two national meetings every year to highlight best practices in state trade
and investment promotion, explore important issues for state export programs, and provide networking opportunities for trade directors from across the country.
These meetings also include training sessions for trade
specialists and other state staff to promote the professional
development of international business development specialists. For information on future meetings, please refer to the Calendar of Events section.
Federal Advocacy
SIDO works closely with the federal government, Congress, and state leaders across the country to support the interests of state international trade agencies. SIDO's national advocacy efforts have had a direct impact on the federal government's decisions to
abandon a scheduled 400% fee increase for "Gold Key" match
making services. SIDO's advocacy was also instrumental in
requiring the federal government to collect service sector
import and export data on a state-by-state basis.
Finally, SIDO worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Department of
Commerce on the roll out of the "Invest in America" initiative
including the creation of a 50-state single point of contact
system.
Funding Support
SIDO is a strong voice for adequately funding trade and
investment programs at the local, state, and national levels.
SIDO provides testimony at hearing on trade budget issues and
provides research on the impact that trade and investment
programs have on America's economic competitiveness. a
Information Requests & Program Resources
SIDO helps states manage and conduct effective trade and
investment promotion programs by tracking trends and sharing
best practices on a wide variety of key issues including
overseas offices, trade missions, and performance measures.
Trade professionals are able to tap into a national network of
experts to get quick answers on trade and investment topics
through the SIDO email network. Finally, SIDO conducts an annual
"State International Business Development Survey" to track these
issues on a nationwide basis and provide comparative
information.
Multi-state Trade Promotion
SIDO encourages multi-state cooperation in trade promotion by
highlighting successful models of shared overseas offices and
multi-state trade events, and by conducting periodic SIDO-led
market research missions to key emerging markets.
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