Washington State Department of Commerce

About Washington State Department of Commerce

As the state’s economic development agency, the Washington State Department of Commerce focuses on strengthening our key industries, expanding international trade, helping small businesses grow, providing training to a new generation of workers, providing access to funding, and supporting the work of our local economic development partners in all 39 Washington counties. The Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness (OEDC) supports services to help build your business, increase sales, enter new markets, find new partners and hire and train more workers. Visit https://choosewashingtonstate.com/why-washington/ to find resources and connections to grow your business in Washington state.

Commerce works closely with local and regional economic development partners to promote Washington state. Together, we respond to site selector inquires, find helpful ways to support growing businesses and expand international trade relationships around the globe. Washington is composed of 39 counties, each one represented by an Associate Development Organization (ADO) that furthers county or regional economic development goals. Find a local organization at https://www.commerce.wa.gov/small-business-services/ado/.

Washington companies aren’t just managing crops. They’re creating the next big thing in agricultural technology. Our innovators develop solutions that increase productivity and bring safer, higher-quality food to markets around the world, including in the areas of precision irrigation, AI and automated systems, crop science and data analytics, food safety technologies, and cold-chain technology. Across the state, growers, researchers, food manufacturers and technology companies collaborate to solve complex challenges facing agriculture. Our research is developing solutions that conserve resources while maintaining or improving crop productivity. Our diverse agricultural industry provides a real-world laboratory where new crops, technologies and production practices can be developed, tested and deployed on a commercial scale.