On February 2, 2016, SimIS visited Virginia’s General Assembly building to show support for the Virginia Manufacturers Association and VA Delegate Steven Landes’ proposed legislation, House Bill 858 (HB 858), to establish the Virginia International Trade Authority. This bill will establish a public-private partnership to strengthen Virginia’s existing international trade development programs and to better coordinate state, federal, regional and local resources devoted to trade.

“The Virginia International Trade Authority will build on the state’s successful trade programs including the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) Program, Going Global Defense Initiative (GGDI), Virginia International Trade Alliance (VITAL), international trade missions and international consultant network,” says Brett Vassey, CEO of the Virginia Manufacturers Association. SimIS has experienced tremendous growth utilizing programs such as VALET and GGDI, as seen in our recent success with Canadian based partners. SimIS was able to attend a trade mission to Canada in 2015 which has manifested into many fruitful business relationships, along with the ability to access GGDI funds for digital localization.

SimIS regrettably graduates the VALET program in July. However, with us we take an abundant amount of knowledge and network capabilities that we could have owned received from the VALET program. Please join us in supporting HB 858 to establish this authority and support private-sector businesses as we seek to compete on an international scale.

For more information about the proposed legislation and its impact on Virginia private-sector businesses, please read the Virginia Manufacturers Association’s HB 858 Coalition Letter: http://vamanufacturers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/HB-858-Coalition-Letter.pdf

If you would like more information about programs to help grow your company internationally, visit the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program’s page at http://exportvirginia.org/valet-program/.