The US Department of Commerce’s local US Commercial Service office announced today that the Hawaii Pacific Export Council has expanded and diversified its membership to help more companies across Hawaii and the western Pacific territories sell their products internationally. The Council now includes members from Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island, Guam, and the Northern Marianas. The expanded council will now be able to reach more companies across the state of Hawaii and in western US territories, allowing the council to more effectively assist local small- and medium-sized businesses export their products and services overseas.

The Hawaii Pacific Export Council is comprised of local business leaders appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to promote international market expansion within their local district. The organization’s mission is to promote US exports from Hawaii and the Pacific islands region by: 1) supporting the activities of the US Department of Commerce’s Hawaii Pacific Export Assistance Center, 2) counseling businesses in the exporting process, and 3) conducting trade education. To achieve local export success, the council provides services utilizing each member’s expertise to execute the organization’s mission and export objectives. The Hawaii Pacific Export Council’s new members are:

Neil Arakaki, Hawaiian Candies&Nut Ltd.
Peter Cannon, Hawaiian Resources Co. Ltd.
Amy Chun, Consult&Construct LLC
David Day, Law Offices of David Day
Diana Jackson, Tradex Inc.
Casey Jeszenka, Pacific Islands SBDC Network
Mark Joye, Baker Hostetler LLP
Jon Kuehner, Retired Foreign Commercial Service
Phillip Mendiola-Long, Sherman Worldwide
Arthur Richardson, University of Hawaii Manoa
Richard Schnitzler, Hamakua Macadamia Nut Co.
Thomas Steinmetz, Hawaii Tourism Association
Paul Walters, Retired Foreign Commercial Service
Joel Weaver, University of Hawaii Manoa

For more than 30 years, District Export Councils have served the United States by assisting companies within their districts to export their products and services internationally. District Export Councils began in 1973 when President Nixon directed the Secretary of Commerce to establish the District Export Council network throughout the United States to stimulate greater participation in the national export effort. The 56 Export Councils nationwide combine the expertise of more than 1,500 exporters and private and public export service providers throughout the United States. District Export Council members are volunteers that offer their time and expertise to local businesses in efforts to enhance the export progress of their local communities. The promotion of exports has continued to simulate our country’s economic growth and as a result created new higher-paying jobs within the various exporting communities. Consumers outside the United States represent 95 percent of the world’s population and 70 percent of the world’s purchasing power. Companies that export pay on average 15 percent higher wages and are 8.5 percent less likely to go out of business.