Reynolds’ international business trip draws criticism

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(The Center Square) Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds left Tuesday for a two-week international trade mission to three other countries.

She, First Gentleman Kevin Reynolds, Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham, and Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Stephen Osborn, will travel to Italy, Kosovo and Israel with the aim of expanding trade, developing opportunities for business growth and renewing sister state agreements. .

With one of the strongest and most resilient economies in the nation and a workforce renowned for its skills and productivity, there’s no better time to position Iowa as a strong global partner. , said Reynolds.

They will meet with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Veneto Region Vice-President Elisa De Berti, President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu of the Republic of Kosovo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog of Israel, according to the statement. They will also meet Italian companies with significant investments in the state of Iowa, more than 70 Israeli companies and investors in the insurance and agriculture sectors, as well as Kosovar ministers and business leaders.

Through trade missions like this, we build important economic relationships, promote Iowa’s growth in key industries, such as insurance technology and agricultural technology, and open our businesses to new opportunities. in expanding markets beyond the United States, Durham said.

Osborn said the mission coincides with the 30th anniversary of the State Partnership Program, which connects state National Guardsmen with other nations. Iowa’s partner has been Kosovo for over 11 years.

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Our partnership enhances transatlantic security, strengthens regional stability and, at the same time, provides enduring community bonds across the state of Iowa, Osborn said.

John C. Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability, a nonprofit for transparent economic development policy, told The Center Square on Wednesday that such trips are not helpful. These trips are part of the means by which state economic development agencies devote massive amounts of public resources to trying to convince voters that governors are responsible for job creation.

Politicians and economic development bureaucrats would have you believe that Iowa’s prosperity hinges on competing with other states and countries to strike the best grant-laden deal for a major R&D center, a factory manufacturing or corporate headquarters, he said. The fact is, a state’s future economic prosperity isn’t based on how many great site selection deals it wins. Instead, the best statistic to look at to predict the future is the rate of small business creation right now.

Mozena said Iowa entrepreneurs, not CEOs of multinationals in the countries Reynolds Group visits, hold the economic future of Hawkeye States in their hands. These entrepreneurs decide if the state is a smart place to start and grow a business that creates good jobs.

Before spending big bucks convincing Israelis, Italians, and Kosovars that Iowa is the place to build their future, state politicians and bureaucrats would be best served by focusing on getting the facts right first. convince Iowans of this through tax and regulatory policies that address business challenges. owners face in the state, he said.

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