Oregon to the World

Here are some specific strategic actions Oregon’s Governor can set into motion to bolster Oregon's place in the world and launch the first round of focused Oregon to the World activity:

Retain and attract traded sector businesses.

The central component of Oregon’s economic strategy should be to retain and attract “traded sector” employers -- those that sell goods and services outside Oregon. While these employers account for only about 1/3 of our jobs, they have a huge ripple effect on the businesses that sell goods and services inside Oregon. These are local businesses that sell their products and services exclusively or primarily to local customers – hospitals, doctors, banks, retail merchants, utilities and restaurants -- that account for 2/3 of our jobs.

Traded sector companies can be world leaders like Nike or Intel, and companies that sell significant goods and services to other states. In rural areas, a business like a regional distribution center in Hermiston is the “traded sector” for that area because it exports outside the area and brings jobs and dollars into the local economy. The traded sector is the foundation that supports numerous other local businesses in the supply chain and provides the extra resources people need to buy and sell to each other. A strong traded sector is a key to more jobs and higher incomes, so Oregon companies that trade outside the state must be a cornerstone of our economic development strategy.

Continue to build diverse, robust and integrated clusters of companies in industries where Oregon has unique resources, capabilities and talents.

This applies to many sectors of the Oregon economy:

• Forest and Wood Products -- This has been and will continue to be a cornerstone of Oregon’s rural economy. Oregon needs to continue to move away from the boom/bust cycle of commodity exports by continuing to move toward sustainable forest practices and developing higher value-added products less exposed to market swings.
• Agriculture and Food Products -- Tillamook Creamery and NORPAC Foods are some of the many examples of businesses that started locally and have expanded to a national presence.
• Advanced Manufacturing -- Electronic components; biosciences; fabricated metals, machinery and transportation equipment manufacturing represent a big component of traded Oregon products.
• Aviation and Aerospace –- Oregon has a growing group of business that manufactures or contract aviation and aerospace services.
• Software -- Oregon will continue to have strong people advantages in growing software business in our tech savvy state.
• Sports Apparel and Outdoor Gear -- Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Adidas America and other companies throughout the state have made Oregon a center for this industry. The state should promote our existing advantage.
  
• Clean Energy and Technology -- Energy efficiency products and services; green building design and services; renewable energy and energy storage; environmental technology and services.
• Alternative Transportation -- Electric automotive and mass transit vehicles and components.

Seek direct foreign investment in Oregon

Our state was successful in the 1980s and 90s in attracting Japanese and other foreign companies to invest in Oregon. There is an untapped opportunity to attract significant new foreign direct investment into Oregon because China and other Asian nations need to invest their huge currency reserves. Oregon can offer a unique gateway to America for advanced manufacturing, assembly, design and marketing. The next Governor should lead this effort.

Work with local and state economic development organizations and private industry associations to convene leaders within these industries, identify needs and opportunities for industry growth, and take actions on those opportunities, including:

• Assisting companies in accessing foreign markets. The state can do much more to help smaller companies export to Asian and other world markets. We need better follow up on trade missions and a continuing presence to assist Oregon companies with our key trading partners.
• Meeting workforce needs of the industry.
• Addressing regulatory barriers.
• Assisting companies as they pursue innovation.
• Creating regional solutions centers for the necessary collaboration between federal, state, and local economic development organizations, private enterprise, and other public resources to leverage the combined abilities of these groups.

This represents an evolution in Oregon’s “cluster” strategy included in the Oregon Business Plan. Industries tend to cluster based on proximity to each other, suppliers, talented workers, research institutions, and specialized customers. By consciously connecting the dots within these clusters, we will be able to accelerate our economic growth. Oregon must continue to pursue this strategy, but with a stronger focus on economic diversification.