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Trade Patterns and the Economy of the Northern Great Plains - Executive Summary
2007-11-04
In 1994, the U.S. Congress established the Northern Great Plains Rural Development Commission to prepare a rural development strategy for the Northern Great Plains (NGP) region of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The Commission focused its efforts on several common issue areas including transportation infrastructure, international trade, value-added agriculture, telecommunications, and healthcare. The Commission’s work concluded in 1997 with recommendations in each of these areas, and included a call for further examination of the region’s long-term trade and transportation infrastructure strategy.
In 1999, the NGP Initiative for Rural Development (NGPIRD) received funding from the Federal Highway Administration in the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct a study that would analyze the current and future opportunities for NGP regional and international trade development and then those opportunities with regional transportation needs. NGPIRD recognized from the outset of the project that the region could not and should not be viewed in isolation, particularly from the neighboring Canadian provinces. Therefore, a conscious effort was made to include both Manitoba and Saskatchewan in this work because of the close economic relationship and transportation challenges shared between the Canadian prairies and the U.S. plains. The province of Manitoba and Western Economic Diversification Canada also made financial contributions to this study.
The jurisdictions in the Northern Great Plains region find themselves at a critical juncture. They are confronted with tremendous trade development opportunities provided by emerging markets overseas and trade liberalization on their own continent within the North American Free Trade Agreement. Yet, they also face growing competition from other countries in an increasingly global economy. In this context, this report describes the Region’s economy and trade situation and highlights key opportunities and obstacles facing the Region.
