Facts & Figures

Maryland stands to benefit from pending free trade agreements, as Maryland-Korea exports are already surging to over half a billion dollars, and previous trade agreements have brought significant new business to Maryland.
For example, following the signing of an agreement with Chile in 2004, exports from Maryland to Chile have increased by almost 500%. Maryland’s transportation and engineering manufacturers, including Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, create thousands of jobs due to global exports.

Job Creation

• Trade supported 782,600 jobs in Maryland in 2008, or 22.6% of total jobs, up from 11% in 1992.¹
• Nearly one-ninth (11.5%) of all manufacturing workers in Maryland depended on exports for their jobs.²
• In 2008, 108,600 people in Maryland were employed by U.S. affiliates of companies that are at least 50% foreign-owned.³

Exports and Growth

• Maryland exported $10.2 billion in merchandise to foreign markets in 2010. Maryland’s largest market in 2010 was Canada ($1.6 billion), followed by the Netherlands ($677 million), China ($571 million), Saudi Arabia ($500 million), and Mexico ($488 million).⁴ 
• In 2008, 4,354 companies exported goods from Maryland. Of these, 87% were small- and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
• Agricultural exports are important to Maryland’s economy, totaling $529 million and supporting about 6,127 jobs in 2008.⁵
• Since 2007, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed $849.9 million in exports from 45 companies in 20 communities in Maryland.⁶

Education and Research

• In 2008–2009, 4,581 Maryland students studied abroad.⁷
• During 2009–2010, 14,498 international students were enrolled in Maryland colleges and universities and contributed$419 million to the Maryland economy.⁸

Global Engagement

• Since 1961, 5,182 Peace Corps volunteers from Maryland have served in dozens of countries overseas.⁹
• Support from U.S. government grants and contracts to private voluntary organizations engaged in foreign assistance and development in Maryland totaled $283 million in 2008.¹⁰

1. http://businessroundtable.org/uploads/studies-reports/downloads/Trade_and_American_Jobs.pdf
2. http://www.trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports
3. http://www.bea.gov/scb/pdf/2010/11%20November/1110_us_ops.pdf
4. http://www.trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports
5. http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/WTO/states.html
6. https://webappsprod01.exim.gov/apps/usmap/usmap.nsf
7. http://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/Fact-Sheets-by-US-State
8. http://www.nafsa.org/publicpolicy/default.aspx?id=23158
9. http://multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/stats/homestates.pdf
10. http://www.pvo.net/usaid