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SAN FRANCISCO - 05/28/04 - The California Council for International Trade (CCIT) is "well-positioned to help strengthen the California economy by promoting sound trade policy," according to David Zuercher, recently elected chairman of the Bay Area-based trade promotion organization. 

"Although the last few years have been very rough for trade, the recent economic improvements signal many new opportunities for expansion," said Zuercher, executive vice president of Wells Fargo in Los Angeles.

"My goals for this year will focus on giving the kind of leadership to CCIT that will make it a strong voice in global trade as we enter a new economic era and a new spirit of vitality in the relationships between Sacramento and Washington."

The first step toward those goals was the adoption of a pair of significant positions for 2004 by the group's Board of Directors, he said.

According to Zuercher, the CCIT will call on the California legislature not to enact any trade policy legislation until a CCIT-proposed State Task Force on Trade Policy can be created by Governor Schwarzenegger and its results considered by the administration.

The second strongly opposes any federal or state action that would restrict the ability of companies to outsource operations overseas.

"CCIT believes a task force is both timely and crucial since the legislature abruptly abolished all trade programs last year, including programs to help small exporters find overseas markets," he said, adding that support "can best be provided through a federal-state partnership, recently proposed by the US Department of Commerce in coordination with the Schwarzenegger administration."

However, Zuercher said, "We also believe the state needs a group of people who use trade services to help design a new strategy to restore California to its position as a leader in global trade."

Serving with Zuercher on the CCIT Board will be Vice Chairs Tamsin Randlett of Gap, Inc., San Francisco, and John Liebman, a Los Angeles attorney with the law firm of McKenna, Long and Aldridge. Joseph G. Englert, president of Export Assist in San Francisco, was elected Secretary-Treasurer, while Joseph Harrison continues to serve as President.

In line with the trade promotion group's new agenda, an "aggressive" membership drive has been launched "to give added strength to its core program of supporting trade expansion programs at both the federal and state levels."

The new campaign includes a major statewide grassroots effort organizing all international business - large or small - into a network to reinforce the message that trade benefits all Californians, even those who are against expanded trade.
 
"I believe strongly in the CCIT as a vehicle that has proven over the years its ability to help enact controversial trade legislation such as NAFTA and normalization of trade with China," said Zuercher.  "Each of the thousands of California companies involved in any way with international trade should join in our effort to persuade both Congress and the California legislature to understand that trade is increasingly important to the future of California."

Another key element of the CCIT's efforts to promote trade is the California Trade Education Center (CTEC), an independent research organization set up to study the impact of trade on communities throughout the state and disseminate the information to the public and elected leaders to increase understanding of how trade benefits all Californians.

"Thirty percent, more than $300 billion, of California's trillion dollar economy comes from international trade. This creates five million high quality jobs for California," said Zuercher. "Fifteen percent of all goods and services produced in the Golden State are sold overseas, making California the largest exporting state."

The 45 year-old CCIT's network partners include large and small manufacturers, exporters, importers, trade service providers, educators, and former federal and state trade officials.

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