U.S. Department of Commerce Leads Largest Trade Mission to Southeast Asia

Trade Winds ASEAN brings American companies to explore international commercial opportunities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2023
Contact: Office of Public Affairs
publicaffairs@trade.gov

WASHINGTON – Between March 9-16, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration will lead over 100 American businesses representing over 20 industry sectors to several Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) member states for Trade Winds ASEAN, the U.S. government’s largest annual trade mission and business development forum.

Trade Winds ASEAN will provide qualifying U.S. businesses looking to expand into new markets with in-person meetings with global distributors, sales and government representatives, as well as networking opportunities and conference programming as they explore commercial opportunities in these partnering countries. Approximately 90% of the companies participating in Trade Winds ASEAN are micro-, small-, or medium-sized enterprises, with more than a third being women- minority- or veteran-owned.

Trade Winds ASEAN centers around a three-day business forum (March 13-15) in Bangkok, Thailand, that features meetings with U.S. commercial diplomats and trade experts from over 20 countries across Asia, plenary sessions and networking events.

Companies will also join Commerce officials for optional trade mission stops in Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia where they will meet directly with foreign government leaders, market experts and pre-vetted potential business partners. In total, Trade Winds ASEAN will host nearly 450 government-to-business meetings and over 400 business-to-business engagements.

Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Marisa Lago, is leading a delegation of 17 U.S. companies to the Trade Winds ASEAN mission stop in Vietnam, on March 9-10, and will also lead the Trade Winds ASEAN business forum in Bangkok on March 13-15.

“Building on the Biden Administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and fulfilling a commitment Secretary Raimondo made at the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in May 2022, Trade Winds ASEAN brings American companies to the region to grow prosperity and jobs in the United States and across the Indo-Pacific,” said Marisa Lago, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. “Trade Winds is a core component of Commerce’s central mission to help American companies and their workers compete – and win – on a global scale.”

For more information on Trade Winds ASEAN, visit the U.S. Commercial Service website.

###

About the International Trade Administration The International Trade Administration (ITA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce is the premier resource for American companies competing in the global marketplace. ITA has more than 2,200 employees assisting U.S. exporters in more than 100 U.S. cities and 80 markets worldwide. For more information, visit www.trade.gov.