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DIVISION OF BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT
Michael S. Lofton, Assistant Secretary
45 Calvert St.
Annapolis 21401 Telephone: 974-3514
Business Assistance Center: 1-800-OK. GREEN
(Relocation to Baltimore planned Nov. 1987).
The Division of Business Development creates
and implements an aggressive marketing program
to solicit new economic activity for the State. The
Office advises and assists business and industry on
plant location and expansion, with particular ex-
pertise in such matters as sites, buildings, labor,
industrial training, taxes, and financing. To en-
courage capital investment in Maryland by for-
eign corporations, the Office also operates interna-
tional satellite offices in Brussels and Tokyo.
Within the Division, the Maryland Business As-
sistance Center (MBAC) informs business and in-
dustry about State programs and services. The
Center provides the business community with a
direct point of contact with State government and
oners professional help for companies seeking to
expand in Maryland. Central to this effort is a
toll-free telephone line (1-800-OK-GREEN).
The Center also serves as an advocate for business
in dealing with government-related issues and
problems.
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Harold Zassenhaus, Director
World Trade Center, Suite 752
401 E. Pratt St.
Baltimore 21202 Telephone: 333-4295
The Office of International Trade was created in
1985 to promote the development of international
trade activities and opportunities for the citizens
of the State of Maryland (Chapter 119, Acts of
1985). To accomplish that end, the Office strives
to increase the public's awareness of international
trade opportunities, provides technical assistance
to businesses interested in developing overseas
markets, and helps businesses that are currently
exporting to increase their sales to existing mar-
kets or to develop new ones. The Office works
with other State agencies, local economic develop-
ment offices, universities, federal and quasi-federal
agencies, and trade associations to expand the in-
ternational trade assistance available to the Mary-
land business community.
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Specific activities of the Office include con-
ducting an outreach program to firms with export
potential, and providing in-depth counseling and
market information tailored to the particular
needs of each firm. The Office develops publica-
tions to increase knowledge about international
trade techniques and about the services available
to facilitate international trade. The Office pub-
lishes a monthly newsletter to advise Maryland
businesses of market trends and to inform busi-
nesses about international marketing seminars
concerning policies and programs affecting inter-
national commerce that are offered by the Office
and by federal, non-profit, and private organiza-
tions.
The Office organizes overseas trade missions,
trade fairs, and promotional events with the coop-
eration of the federal government, local govern-
ments, and trade organizations, and assists Mary-
land businesses to participate in these events. It
also supports foreign buyer missions and sister-
state relationships. The Office sponsors seminars
and conferences, including a series of quarterly
seminars on export strategies, methods of pay-
ment and finance, documentation, and federal ex-
port controls. The Office also assists Maryland
businesses to obtain export-related financing
through the Maryland Industrial Development Fi-
nancing Authority (MIDFA) (Code 1957, Art.
41A, sec. 2-107).
STATE TRADE POLICY COUNCIL
Chairperson: Melvin A. Steinberg, Lieutenant
Governor
Horace T. Alston, 1987; William I. King, 1987;
Richard H. White, 1987; Peggy Chaplin, 1988;
Ernest L. Murphy, 1988; Tagi Sagafi-Nejad, 1988;
William F. Ward, Jr., 1988; Daniel R. Baker,
1989; William J. Detweiler, 1989; W. Griffin
Morrel, Jr., 1989; Roland Darcey, 1990; Stuart
Greenberg, 1990; Parris N. Glendenning, 1991;
Donald G. Hammen, 1991.
Ex officio: Wayne A. Cawley, Jr., Secretary of
Agriculture; J. Randall Evans, Secretary of
Economic and Employment Development; Richard
H. Trainor, Secretary of Transportation; John S.
Toll, President, University of Maryland; LoRee P.
Silloway, U.S. Dept. of Commerce; John A. Pica,
Jr., State Senate ; Tyras S. Athey, House of
Delegates.
World Trade Center, Suite 752
401 E. Pratt St.
Baltimore 21202 Telephone: 333-4295
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