U.S. Commerce Trade Official Honors
Renton Firm for Export Achievement

Neal Burnham, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Commercial Service today presented the Commerce Department's Export Achievement Certificate to TOPICS Entertainment of Renton, WA. The award recognizes companies and organizations that have used the export services of the U.S. Commercial Service to make their first export sale or open new foreign markets.

"Most new jobs in America are created by small businesses," Burnham said. "Small and medium-sized companies like TOPICS Entertainment comprise almost 97 percent of U.S. exporters. The Bush administration will continue to work hard to help U.S. companies increase their exports and generate high-paying jobs for the working people of Washington."

TOPICS Entertainment is the nation's leading publisher of education, reference, and language learning software and spoken word audio products. They approached the U.S. Commercial Service in 2003 for assistance in exporting to the Mexican market. By utilizing the federal resources available at the Seattle U.S. Export Assistance Center, TOPICS Entertainment was able to secure a number of business meetings, which resulted in export sales expected to exceed $500,000.

The U.S. Commercial Service is a U.S. Commerce Department agency that helps small and medium-sized American businesses market their goods and services around the world. The Seattle U.S. Export Assistance Center is part of the agency's worldwide network, which includes 107 U.S. Export Assistance Centers throughout the United States and more than 150 international offices.

For more information on the U.S. Commercial Service, please visit www.export.gov or call the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Seattle, WA at 206-553-5615.