30th Anniversary of the Maine International Trade Center

WHEREAS, in 1996, Governor Angus S. King, Jr. and a unanimous Maine Legislature established the Maine International Trade Center as a public-private partnership, merging existing state trade-development efforts together to support Maine businesses and strengthen Maine’s economy through international commerce; and

WHEREAS, for three decades, the Maine International Trade Center has adapted to sweeping changes in technology, global markets, and trade policy while remaining a trusted, nonpartisan international economic development partner; and

WHEREAS, the Maine International Trade Center has become Maine’s leading source for international business assistance, providing customized consulting, market intelligence, technical assistance, funding, education, and worldwide connections to exporters and importers of every size in all 16 counties; and

WHEREAS, the Maine International Trade Center has worked with thousands of clients and facilitated approximately $350 million in export sales, helping Maine products, services, and innovations reach customers around the world while supporting jobs and economic opportunity in rural, coastal, and urban communities; and

WHEREAS, trade missions led by the Maine International Trade Center have carried Maine businesses from neighboring Canadian provinces to markets across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and beyond, while international delegations and partnerships have brought new relationships, ideas, and opportunities home to Maine; and

WHEREAS, in 2016, the United States Department of Commerce honored the Maine International Trade Center with the President’s “E” Award, the nation’s highest recognition for significant contributions to the expansion of United States exports, and its Future Global Leaders program has provided practical international business experience to more than 200 interns; and

WHEREAS, the Maine International Trade Center’s success reflects the dedication of its staff, board members, business members, public officials, and partners, whose collaboration has ensured that Maine businesses in communities large and small have a place at the international table;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim August 18, 2026, as the

throughout the State of Maine and I encourage all Maine people to join me in recognizing three decades of service by the Maine International Trade Center and celebrating its continued work to connect Maine businesses, people, and communities to the world.

In testimony whereof, I have caused
the Great Seal of the State to be
hereunto affixed GIVEN under my
hand at Augusta this seventeenth day
of August Two Thousand Twenty-Six