PROMOTION OF TRADE

New York City is the uncontested international business and financial center of the United States. Therefore, as a part of the greater New York area, the Bronx can be a critical market for international exporting industries. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. believes that Bronx businesses can benefit greatly from global trade by serving as a gateway for international exporting businesses as well as exporting goods made in the Bronx to other countries. That is why Carrión is seeking to forge solid foundations with countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and other countries around the world to develop trade and investment opportunities for many years to come.

Carrión worked with the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (BOEDC) to co-host an international export seminar with the U.S. Dept of Commerce for Bronx-based exporters and potential exporters featuring the Harlem Export Assistance Center (USDC), the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

• Carrión also co-produced the first ever Puerto Rico Business Expo to promote trade between Puerto Rico and the Northeast United States using Bronx facilities as a gateway. During the Expo, more than 15 of the best Puerto Rican food and beverage companies attended the expo and met with New York based food giants to begin an economic partnership.

• Considering a growing Mexican population in New York City, particularly in the Bronx , Carrión plans to travel to Mexico this year in an effort to build an economic trade bridge between the Bronx and Mexico.