Monday, March 26, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt to Advocate for Missouri Boeing Workers, Agriculture in Trade Mission
JEFFERSON CITY–As part of a trade mission to Italy this week Gov. Matt Blunt will push to expand the international sales of Boeing's defense platforms to help sustain thousands of jobs for Missouri workers. He will also help promote Missouri's agriculture and biotechnology industries.
"I am committed to protecting Missouri jobs and promoting Missouri's outstanding agricultural products," Blunt said. "By collaboratively working with our trading partners, Missouri can continue to grow its economy and will strengthen its position in the global marketplace."
On the trade mission, Blunt will advocate for Boeing St. Louis platforms that the company is pushing for in Italy including: replacement of the Chinook fleet with CH-47F models, Italy's participation in the C-17 NATO Strategic Airlift Capability (NSAC), a family of 737-based airborne surveillance and command & control aircraft (MMA, AEW&C, SIGINT), Launch Services, Precision Guided munitions (JDAM, SDB) and a Land Forces Transformation Program focused on Network Centric Operations/Warfare (NCO/NCW).
Italy, with its diverse market, is an important trading partner for Missouri. It is the state's fourth biggest partner in Europe and twelfth biggest in the world. In 2006 alone, more than $155 million dollars worth of exports passed from Missouri to Italy.
The trade mission will also emphasize Missouri's strong agriculture industry and will spotlight ongoing success and developments in biotechnology and plant sciences. Gov. Blunt will meet with Italian leaders as well as officials at Monsanto - Italy. Missouri's beef quality initiative, ethanol standard and biofuel incentive funds, and state of the art plant research facilities are examples of the state taking the lead to compete on a global scale.
The Hawthorn Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization formed to assist both public and private efforts in promoting Missouri's economic development initiatives will sponsor the trade mission.