NPES Receives Grant to Support Industry Efforts to Expand U.S. Exports with Indonesia
RESTON, Va.—October 28, 2015—NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies has announced that the International Trade Administration’s (ITA) Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) awarded the Association a grant to open an international office in Indonesia to facilitate and significantly boost exports by the printing, publishing, and converting industry to Indonesia. Over the next three years, these funds are projected to generate an estimated $28 million in exports to Indonesia by NPES members across the United States. Indonesia, with the world’s fourth largest population and Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is a rapidly growing print market attributable to: an expanding, educated middle class; developing macroeconomic conditions; and, regulatory ease of trade for NPES members’ products.
U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan M. Selig stated, "With 96 percent of the world’s consumers living outside of our borders, exporting is a sure path to growth, prosperity and good-paying jobs." He added, "NPES recognizes the positive impact exporting can have on the bottom line for their member organizations. MDCP awards to groups like NPES are part of President Obama’s government-wide strategy to strengthen America’s economy by increasing exports."
Each MDCP award winner pledges an investment of at least two-thirds of the project costs and to sustain its project after the initial MDCP award period ends. The funded project will allow NPES to expand U.S. exports by: 1) opening an office in Jakarta; 2) developing programs to help U.S. firms participating in trade shows and trade missions abroad; and, 3) providing technical training and education for the print industry in Indonesia.
Each MDCP award includes financial and technical assistance from ITA to support well-defined business plans aimed at strengthening an industry by increasing exports. Additionally, MDCP partnerships between ITA and non-profit industry groups help to create U.S. jobs through exports.
NPES President Ralph Nappi also noted, "We are delighted to receive this MDCP award from the U.S. International Trade Administration. It will support and expand NPES member companies’ international trade efforts in Indonesia, an emerging growth market for the graphic communications industry.” This is the fourth time NPES has received this competitive award. Earlier awards have been used to open successful offices in China and India, as well as a training center in China.
This year, of the 31 applications submitted, only five non-profit industry groups received MDCP awards. In total, these projects are expected to generate more than $653 million in U.S. exports over the next three years in return for the one-time $1.4 million Federal investment.
Since the Market Development Cooperator Program’s inception in 1993, ITA has issued 141 awards to 108 organizations in 32 states. The program has helped to generate more than $9 billion in exports. In an average year, MDCP projects generate $595 million in U.S. exports.
