CalChamber Hosts Virtual Meeting of the California District Export Councils
On July 31, 2020, the California Chamber of Commerce hosted a meeting of business representatives who make up the five California District Export Councils, in addition to federal trade officials from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Together with the CalChamber Council for International Trade, the Northern California District Export Council (DEC) co-hosted the event. The District Export Councils (five in California and 60 nationwide with a total of 1500 members) contribute leadership and international trade expertise to complement the U.S. Commercial Service’s export promotion efforts.
The featured speaker was Ana Guevara, Deputy Assistant Secretary for U.S. Operations at the U.S. Department of Commerce where she overseas 275 trade professionals in 100 U.S. cities. Ms. Guevara previously served as the Senior Advisor for Trade and Economic Growth at the U.S. Agency for International Development; U.S. Representative to the Board of Directors of the World Bank; and, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Service Industries at the International Trade Administration. Ms. Guevara also has previously served in the private sector as the Vice President of two Fortune 500 companies. Ms. Guevara received her B.A. in public and international affairs from George Washington University.
Other speakers during the event included National DEC Chair, Oz Erdem; and the U.S. Commercial Service’s Regional Director for the Pacific-North, David Fiscus, as well as the new Regional Director for the Pacific-South, Colleen Fisher. The group heard an update from the five California DECs. They also discussed the current issues facing the trade community and the U.S. Department of Commerce involving COVID-19.
The California DECs agreed upon a letter to send to the California Congressional Delegation in support of international trade issues. This was the third letter the California DECs have sent to Congress, the letters include:
- Support for International Issues, 7/31/2020
- Support for the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., 9/10/2019
- Support for the USMCA, 5/22/2019