Minnesota’s global competitiveness is growing rapidly thanks to its established presence in markets in North America and Europe, initiatives in China and India, and growing business in emerging markets throughout the world. Minnesota's goods exports generated over $20 billion last year, supporting more than 750,000 good-paying Minnesotan jobs.

• In Minnesota, 755,900 jobs were supported by international trade in 2018, representing 19.90% of all jobs in the state.^1,2
• In 2019, 8,469 companies exported goods from Minnesota of which 86% were small- and medium-sized enterprises. In 2018, 147,200 people were employed by affiliates of companies at least 50% foreign-owned.^3,4

• Minnesota exported $20.1 billion in goods to foreign markets in 2020, a 10% decline compared to 2019 driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.⁵
  • Canada ($4.8 billion)
  • China ($2.1 billion)
  • Mexico ($1.9 billion)
  • Japan ($1.4 billion)
  • South Korea ($938 million)
• Agricultural exports are important to Minnesota's' economy, totaling $6.4 billion in 2019, according to the USDA.⁶
• Since 2014, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed $920 million in exports from 124 companies in Minnesota.⁷
• Since 1971, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation - which has been modernized into the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) - has invested $491 million in Minnesota companies for overseas investment.⁸
• Since 1992, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency has helped facilitate $391 million in exports from Minnesota companies, supporting an estimated 1,500 jobs in the state.⁹

• In 2018-2019, 8,716 Minnesota students studied abroad.¹⁰
• During 2020, 15,378 international students were enrolled in Minnesota colleges and universities and contributed $468 million to the Minnesota economy.¹⁰

• Since 1961, 7,079 Peace Corps volunteers from Minnesota have served in dozens of countries overseas.¹¹

1. https://tradepartnership.com/reports/trade-and-american-jobs-the-impact-of-trade-on-u-s-and-state-level-employment-update-2020/
2. https://www.businessroundtable.org/policy-perspectives/trade-international/benefits-of-trade-data
3. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/edb/2019/index.html
4. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/imne1120.pdf
5. https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/state-economy-and-trade-factsheets
6. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets.aspx#.U2ERwbQzqX8
7. https://www.exim.gov/customer-map/
8. https://www.opic.gov/sites/default/files/docs/OPIC_local_impact.pdf
9. https://ustda.gov/ustda-success-by-state/
10. https://opendoorsdata.org/fact_sheets/
11. https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-top-volunteer-producing-states-2018/