Baldacci pushes trade district with Canada

ORONO – Maine should team up with Canada’s Maritime Provinces to create a trade district to promote commerce with Europe, Gov. John Baldacci says.

The plan is “to build alliances so we can strengthen each other,” Baldacci said at the annual Governor’s International Community Breakfast at the University of Maine.

He said he has called the premiers of the Maritime Provinces – Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island – as well as the premier of Quebec to start the process.

Provincial representatives will visit Bangor later this week to discuss creation of the Northeast Atlantic Region trade district, said Richard Coyle, president of the Maine International Trade Center.

More international trade would mean additional jobs in Maine, boosting the state’s economy, Coyle said.

Maine’s $2 billion export trade last year supported 23,800 jobs, and 40 percent of those exports, worth $791 million, went to Canada.

Baldacci said Maine should be able to take advantage of the resources and contacts that the Maritimes have with Europe.

He expressed particular interest in trade opportunities in Ireland and Northern Ireland, where technology-based industries have a strong and growing presence.

Baldacci plans to make a trade mission to that region this fall, accompanied by executives at Maine companies that want to explore opportunities there.

Partnering with the Maritime Provinces makes more sense for Maine than joining forces with other American states, said John Mahon, University of Maine professor of international business policy and strategy.

Maine and the provinces offer different products, Mahon said, and wouldn’t compete head-to-head. Canada offers natural gas and “folklore products” – traditional regional crafts such as snowshoes. Maine, he said, offers wood products and other value-added goods.