Montana U.S. Sen. Max Baucus is bringing five important trading partners to Montana ahead of his sixth Montana Economic Development Summit in Butte.
Baucus will lead ambassadors from China, Germany, Japan, Peru and Canada on a tour of Montana beginning in Kalispell next Friday, Sept. 13. After Kalispell, Baucus will travel through Missoula and Bozeman before arriving in Butte to kick off the summit with a panel on creating jobs through international trade Monday, Sept. 16.
Ambassadors will visit Montana manufacturing, research and agriculture facilities, tour a ranch and meet with dozens of Montana business owners hoping to increase markets for their products overseas, according to Baucus.
“Time and time again we’ve proven that when we bring the right buyers to Montana, our products and businesses sell themselves,” Baucus said. “The more we can open new markets for Montana products around the world, the more jobs we can support here at home.”
This is Baucus’ sixth “Ambassadors Tour” since 2004. In that time, 20 countries have been represented and sent officials to Montana, including Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, Taiwan, Bahrain, Chile, China, South Korea, Panama, Colombia, Morocco, Peru, Vietnam, Ireland, Brazil, Canada, and Germany.
In 2011, Baucus also brought cabinet-level officials from 21 economies to Montana for Asia Pacific Economic Development Cooperation meetings. Baucus has organized at least eight trade missions for Montanans to travel to 11 countries.
According to Baucus’ office, past ambassadors tours have yielded big results for Montana jobs. In 2010, an ambassador from Chile visited a ranch in Montana and the country eventually opened its market to American beef. In 2011, Baucus announced the Australian military will purchase $530,000 worth of Black Hawk maintenance platforms from Lewistown manufacturer Spika Welding. Baucus also announced that Colombian Ambassador Gabriel Silva would purchase 50 head of Montana cattle from McMillan ranch outside of Lewistown.