Published June 1984 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Boosting West Virginia Exports West Virginia is not often thought of as an exporting state. Our state is better-known, perhaps, for its rich coal reserves, chemical and glass manufacturers, lumber industry, steel mills of the Northern Panhandle, fruit growing in the Eastern Panhandle, and other industries. But, in fact, West Virginia is a leader in exports, in 1981, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, the third-highest ranking state in the percentage of manufactured goods sold to overseas buyers. Those exports included more than $1 billion-worth of West Virginia chemicals; $600 million in primary metals; $82 million in fabricated metals; and $78 million in machinery products. And that ranking does not take into account West Virginia's coal exports. In 1982, West Virginia sold 45 million tons of its coal to overseas buyers, which accounted for nearly 43 percent of all U.S. coal sold abroad. In an effort to maintain and build upon the success that West Virginia companies have had in exporting, I recently sponsored an export seminar to give the West Virginia business community a chance to talk with federal Commerce Department officials about the possibilities open to them in foreign markets. For first-time exporters, the seminar, which was held in Charleston, offered guidance on selling West Virginia products overseas. For those who are already in the export market, the seminar provided tips on ways to expand foreign trade. I was proud that during the seminar, the announcement was made that a West Virginia firm, Standard Instrumentation, Inc. of Charleston, has won the Commerce Department's Excellence in Exporting Award, the first West Virginia company to receive the citation since Huntington's International Nickel Company won it in 1974. Following the seminar, West Virginia companies interested in exporting got another boost when the Commerce Department announced that it has designated an Export Trading Company in West Virginia, one of fewer than 50 in the country. That company, H.L. Porter and Associates of Wayne County, will be in a position to help West Virginia firms find foreign markets for their goods, especially lumber products; mine machinery and spare parts; coal; chemicals; and arts and crafts. World markets offer great potential for West Virginia businesses and for our state's economy, and I am encouraged by the positive signs in West Virginia that our exports will not only continue, but that they will also increase in the years ahead. June 13, 1984