Pawlenty to head trade mission to India

Gov. Pawlenty says he views his next foreign trade mission as a tremendous opportunity to better acquaint Minnesota with India, and to better acquaint India with Minnesota.

To that end, state officials will select up to 30 Minnesota business leaders to travel with the governor and participate in a series of presentations to potential trade partners in India. Pawlenty likes India's fast growing economy and population.

"(India has) 1.1 billion people, with substantial growth, a lot of youth in the demographic, and so it's huge market opportunity," said Pawlenty. "It's also a democracy, it's substantially English speaking, it's stable, it's an ally. So there are a lot of characteristics to India that align with the United States and with Minnesota."

State officials say about half of Minnesota's current manufactured exports to India are computers and electronics used by the many call centers operated there.

Pawlenty's announcement comes at a time when some DFL legislators are pushing for new requirements on such foreign call centers doing business in Minnesota. They want more protections for consumers' personal and financial information.

Pawlenty says he wants protections too, but he doesn't want to isolate Minnesota.

"We're a small state in a region of the country that has modest population growth. And a lot of our growth is going to come from our ability to export stuff, export ideas, export market opportunities and sell into other markets," said Pawlenty. "So when you're a small place, you don't want to be shutting doors. You don't want to become insular and inward-looking."

The governor's trip is scheduled for Oct. 20-Oct. 27, with stops planned in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, whose parents are from India, says the trade mission is long overdue. He says India is a huge untapped market for Minnesota.

"Any state that takes the initiative in encouraging competition, and exporting its manufactured goods and its knowledge base to India, is going to do well," said Chaudhary.

"There is sort of a stampede thing. India is very much on everyone's radar scope now."

Pawlenty has made three previous trade trips. He went to Canada in 2003, and Poland and the Czech Republic in 2004. In 2005, Pawlenty led a delegation of more than 200 Minnesotans to China.

Tony Lorusso, executive director of the Minnesota Trade Office, says trade missions do pay off. He says Minnesota exports to China have increased 71 percent in the past two years. Lorusso sees similar potential in India, which now imports $85 million a year from Minnesota businesses.

"It is correct that India today is not the largest trading partner for Minnesota. I think it ranks No. 21 or 22, which is consistent with where it stands in the U.S. ranking as well," said Lorusso. "If you look a few years ago where China stood in that ranking, it was similar as well. So, we think -- and many other economists alike -- think India will be the new China this century as well."

Other states are catching on to India's potential. Governors from Virginia and Iowa have been there, and California and Utah are lining up gubernatorial visits for this year, said Michael Taylor of the US-India Business Alliance.

The alliance helped organize the earlier missions, and Taylor said he's been in contact with at least a dozen states about possible trips.

"There is sort of a stampede thing. India is very much on everyone's radar scope now," said Taylor, the alliance's executive vice president. "It's just a question of when they decide to go and how they decide to go. I think they feel a necessity to do it. The China mission was something you had to tick off. India has now become that."

India's technology and agriculture sectors hold promise for U.S. companies and the Asian country's growing middle class has led to a hungry consumer culture, he said.

But Taylor cautions Americans from thinking trade with India will be easy. The country has 17 major languages (844 dialects), six major religions and a complicated state-to-federal government structure.

"It's a bit of a tough nut to crack, and you need to spend a lot of time on your market research," Taylor said.

Tony Lorusso of Minnesota's trade office says information technology, agriculture and biomedical companies will likely be included in the delegation. But his office is inviting all interested businesses to apply.

The trip is expect to cost $4,500 to $5,000 per person, but only government employees will go on the state's dime. The deadline for businesses to apply is May 31.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

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