Jerry Hingle is President and CEO of International Trade Associates, a boutique consultancy dedicated to assisting U.S. businesses and trade associations expand internationally and take full advantage of federal resources in helping them do so. The consultancy assists numerous USDA Foreign Agriculture Service cooperators and has strategic partners available in several industry sectors located around the globe.
Hingle has a proven, 20+ year successful track record at managing export development programs. He launched International Trade Associates after serving seven years as Executive Director and CEO of the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA), an export development trade association composed of the Departments of Agriculture of 15 Southern U.S. states and Puerto Rico. He directed the organization’s $10 million promotional campaign aimed at developing export markets for high-value food and agricultural products in more than 30 countries worldwide with the help of a full-time staff of 12.
He joined SUSTA after working 10 years with the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA), a trade organization representing the U.S. lumber industry, where he directed the industry’s international marketing and trade policy program in more than 20 countries.
Prior to working at SFPA, Hingle worked with the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) in Washington, D.C., where he managed international marketing and research programs for wood products in Asia, Mexico, and the European Union. Before his AF&PA position, he was account manager of public relations and research for A&MV Public Relations International in Brussels, Belgium, where he conducted market potential studies for U.S. agricultural products in Europe.
He is a native of New Orleans, where he graduated from Loyola University in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, majoring in marketing. Two years later, he earned his MBA from the European University in Brussels, Belgium, specialized in international management.
He is media trained and a go-to source for print, radio, and television stories and had been featured in numerous trade media outlets as well as NPR and BBC World.
Appointments and Board Positions
U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC):
Appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture as a security-cleared advisor to help guide U.S. negotiating objectives on matters related to agricultural trade policy. His most recent work centered on the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
U.S. Department of Commerce Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Forest Products (ITAC):
Appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative as a security-cleared advisor on trade issues affecting the forest products industry. Most work centered on World Trade Organization negotiating rounds and several bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements.
Louisiana District Export Council:
Hingle was appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to this regional council to guide businesses on exporting and importing.
World Trade Center of New Orleans:
Hingle serves on the organization’s Board of Directors and as Chairman of its Agriculture Committee.
