Latest news with #JoeNguyen
Geek Wire
3 days ago
- Business
- Geek Wire
Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of May 25, 2025
Get caught up on the latest technology and startup news from the past week. Here are the most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of May 25, 2025. Sign up to receive these updates every Sunday in your inbox by subscribing to our GeekWire Weekly email newsletter. Most popular stories on GeekWire Can one agency reboot Washington state? Commerce chief brings tech to the task With Washington state facing a $16 billion budget shortfall, and tech leaders sounding the alarm over new taxes and economic competitiveness, Department of Commerce Director Joe Nguyen says he's committed to a hard reset. In an interview Tuesday at his downtown Seattle office, nearly six months into his job leading the state's primary economic development agency, the tech veteran and former state senator said the real obstacle to progress isn't tech, or funding, but outdated systems and resistance to change. 'The problem is bureaucracy,' Nguyen said, contrasting the government's sluggish pace with the old tech startup mantra of 'move fast… Read More … Read More
Geek Wire
28-05-2025
- Business
- Geek Wire
Can one agency reboot Washington state? Commerce chief brings tech to the task
Washington state Commerce Director Joe Nguyen at his Seattle office Tuesday, against the backdrop of an Amazon tower through the window. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) With Washington state facing a $16 billion budget shortfall, and tech leaders sounding the alarm over new taxes and economic competitiveness, Department of Commerce Director Joe Nguyen says he's committed to a hard reset. In an interview Tuesday at his downtown Seattle office, nearly six months into his job leading the state's primary economic development agency, the tech veteran and former state senator said the real obstacle to progress isn't tech, or funding, but outdated systems and resistance to change. 'The problem is bureaucracy,' Nguyen said, contrasting the government's sluggish pace with the old tech startup mantra of 'move fast and break things.' In government, he said, 'you move slow and you don't do anything.' His approach: move fast and build smarter. To illustrate his point, the former Microsoft senior program manager turned to his computer and launched into a live demo of a custom GPT, an AI assistant he made in a weekend using OpenAI technology. It streamlines the department's contract compliance process, compressing days of staff work into minutes. The demo reflected Nguyen's broader ambition: use the Commerce Department as a proving ground for modernizing state government. 'My goal isn't just to make Commerce more effective, more efficient,' he explained. 'My goal is to make all of [state] government more effective and efficient.' It's a directive that he says came directly from Gov. Bob Ferguson. By delivering visible results within his own department, particularly with AI and project management tools, Nguyen said he hopes to demonstrate the value of innovation and set an example for other state agencies to follow. 'Commerce, to me, is an incubator,' Nguyen explained. His measure of success: 'When other people start copying us.' His data engineering experience at Microsoft, including work on GDPR compliance, informs his perspective. Commerce oversees $8 billion across 485 programs, with about 850 employees, working in areas ranging from clean energy deployment to affordable housing initiatives. But Nguyen said he wants the department to go beyond merely managing programs to create meaningful outcomes. 'Really,' he said, 'the goal of Commerce should be to build.' But he faces no shortage of challenges. Budget realities reshape economic strategy The interview Tuesday came a week after Ferguson signed a controversial budget package to address the state's financial shortfall, raising taxes on businesses and high earners while reducing funding for a wide variety of state programs, including economic development. Among the casualties: the Department of Commerce's sector lead program, which connects industry leaders with state officials to support growth in aerospace, life sciences, and technology. Several employees in those sector lead roles were told last week their positions would likely end as the program is restructured following funding reductions. Some of the people impacted will be retained in other positions, Nguyen said. Noting that the program has 55 people in all, he said the cuts also offer a chance to rethink how the state supports and connects with industry. The state has 245 chambers of commerce plus the Department of Commerce and various industry associations, he noted. 'What I don't want is for Commerce to just be doing something that somebody else is already doing,' he said. 'It's a chance to rebuild smarter,' he said. The core work will continue, he said, but in a more integrated way. Tech's political disconnect The timing is challenging given recent warnings from tech leaders. Microsoft President Brad Smith, speaking at the Technology Alliance last week, said Washington has been underinvesting in economic development for 12 years. 'We better wake up,' Smith warned. Microsoft President Brad Smith (right) speaks during a conversation with Jonathan Sposato at the Technology Alliance State of Technology Luncheon in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) Nguyen agreed with Smith's assessment. At the same time, he said, it will also be critical for the tech industry to create stronger connections with the state government. He contrasted tech with other sectors that have 'pipelines to power' — longstanding paths for political engagement and influence. While industries such as labor and agriculture maintain a constant presence in Olympia, the technology sector often keeps its distance. Nguyen said the tech industry has long operated under the belief that 'the less you deal with politics, the better,' a mindset he sees as fundamental to the problem. While tech companies do have lobbyists and government affairs representatives, the tech community overall has been 'largely absent from these conversations,' when compared with other sectors, he said. He cited the political refrain: 'If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.' Public wariness about tech's political involvement is another factor, he said. He cited early media coverage of his state Senate career as an example, reflecting skepticism about 'this tech guy going into politics,' as he put it. 'All these articles about me were, 'Can you trust this tech guy to regulate facial recognition?'' he recalled. 'And I was like, I'm literally the only person [in the Legislature] that even knows how to define racial facial recognition!' Changing the dynamic is key, considering tech's role in the state economy — accounting for 9.4% of all jobs and 22% of total compensation, the highest share in the country, as noted by Smith during his Tech Alliance appearance. Energy as economic engine While tax policy often dominates the conversation, Nguyen views energy as the backbone of future economic development, especially for high-growth areas like cloud computing and AI, where data centers are essential but power-hungry. This isn't about incremental policy changes, he said, but building entire systems — transmission lines, battery storage, and clean energy infrastructure — to meet growing demand. If the entire agency focused solely on building energy capacity, he said, 'that would do more for technology than anything.' Washington State Commerce Director Joe Nguyen speaks at the Technology Alliance State of Technology Luncheon on May 20, 2025, in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) The shifting political landscape in Washington, D.C., adds more complexity. Climate tech startups that have received federal support and grants now face uncertainty as funding gets clawed back. Still, Nguyen remains optimistic, viewing federal funding challenges as a 'road bump' rather than a permanent setback. Energy projects require a '10, 20, 30 year horizon,' he noted, and Washington can use this time productively by focusing on internal efficiencies like speeding permitting processes. He pointed to fusion company Helion as a case in point. The Everett-based company, which already has a functioning reactor and a power purchase agreement, told him they were 'more worried about getting their permits than they were about building the reactor.' 'That is insane,' Nguyen said. This illustrates his broader point about bureaucratic obstacles. 'There's a ton of things that we can do in Washington state to speed this all up,' he said. The AI workforce question Nguyen acknowledges the potential impact of AI on jobs. But the bigger risk, he said, is a digital divide between workers who can harness AI and those who can't. 'I think that's what I'm most worried about,' he said. 'It's not so much that the innovation itself is going to remove the jobs.' He sees part of the solution in workforce development, comparing AI's disruption to previous technological shifts like computers or telephones. The goal, he said, should be ensuring workers can adapt and thrive. Inside the Commerce Department, he envisions AI tools handling routine tasks such as invoice auditing, letting skilled employees focus on higher-value work such as program development and constituent services. 'You have a state agency with phenomenal individuals, and what do we do? Put them in a corner to look at receipts,' he said. 'It's asinine to me.' He explained, 'I'd rather free up their time so they can build the best program, so that they can talk with their constituencies, so they can figure out, how do we actually be more effective? Right now, they're just stuck.' From policy to practice Nguyen's perspective is informed by his transition from tech to state Senate and now to Commerce. As a legislator, he would pass policies and allocate funding, then hand them off to agencies 'and just hope for the best.' Now he can see firsthand why implementation often falls short. The hard part, he says, is turning those directives into tangible results. This realization has brought his current mission into focus. 'That's the biggest thing for me,' he said. 'How do we actually do the things that we talk about?'
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fallout from tariff fight looms for Washington
Dust rising from combine during barley harvest in Reardan, Washington. (Getty Images) Industries across the state continue to brace for fallout from the implementation of U.S. tariffs on international goods, and retaliatory tariffs from Canada, China and Mexico. At the Washington Department of Commerce, Director Joe Nguyen said the state is already feeling the impact of the tariff fight. 'We know that there is a change in behavior in Canadian consumers,' he said. 'We know that our border communities have seen less traffic when it comes to tourists from Canada. And we also know that there are goods that historically have been consumed by our Canadian friends that are seeing a drop as well. Nguyen argued the tariffs are unnecessary as they are being used by the Trump administration, as they ultimately do more harm than good. 'If the long term goal is to harden our infrastructure, have our energy independence, things like that – there are better ways to do it than using wholesale tariffs randomly on countries on goods that are not related to those things,' he said. Nguyen said his team has been working to shore up international partnerships as trade conflicts threaten them. On the domestic front, the Commerce Department has been helping businesses diversify, finding them other trade opportunities to invest in other places. 'But make no mistake, it's gonna be higher prices for most things in Washington state because of these tariffs,' he said. 'In the meantime, we're trying to provide resiliency for our businesses, diversification of their goods. and then also just helping them navigate what this quagmire might look like.' Nguyen said at least $296 million in the state's agricultural exports to Canada will be targeted by the country's retaliatory tariffs, with agricultural communities likely being the most impacted. According to the Washington Grain Commission, 90% of all Washington wheat is exported overseas. The group said farmers are not only concerned about international consumers being dissuaded by higher prices for their products, but tariffs raising costs on things like fertilizer and farm equipment coming into the country from Canada and China. Commission CEO Casey Chumrau said because grain is part of a commodity market, farmers cannot increase prices to address increased production costs. 'So we're kind of getting squeezed on both ends if the production costs are going up, and if we're not able to sell for a higher price on the other side,' she said. Chumrau said the impacts of tariffs on farmers are not fully known as the situation is constantly evolving. And while tariffs could bring economic benefits in the long term, they could do real harm in the near term. She said tariffs do not help as the farm economy has struggled in recent years due to inflation, increasing production costs and decreasing sale prices. 'Our concern is, with kind of that fragile state of the farm economy, will those farmers be able to kind of bridge that short and medium term with the consequences that they might face, in order to realize those long-term benefits?' she said. Chumrau said the commission is 'not critical of the tariffs' and will work with them as the group communicates to federal lawmakers the impacts they could have. She added the commission is hopeful productive negotiations can lead to exceptions or lower tariff rates, and they are doing what they can to support farmers as they try to navigate all the uncertainty ahead. This article was produced as part of the Murrow News Fellowship program, a collaborative effort between news outlets statewide and Washington State University.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Washington groups detail how they are handling tariff impacts
The Brief The Washington Department of Commerce is already feeling the effects of the implementation of U.S. tariffs on international goods, and retaliatory tariffs. Agricultural communities are likely being the most impacted, with leaders warning of real harm in the near term. OLYMPIA, Wash. - Industries across the state continue to brace for fallout from the implementation of U.S. tariffs on international goods, and retaliatory tariffs from Canada, China and Mexico. Local perspective At the Washington Department of Commerce, Director Joe Nguyen said the state is already feeling the impact of the tariff fight. "We know that there is a change in behavior in Canadian consumers," he said. "We know that our border communities have seen less traffic when it comes to tourists from Canada. And we also know that there are goods that historically have been consumed by our Canadian friends that are seeing a drop as well." Nguyen argued the tariffs are unnecessary as they are being used by the Trump administration, as they ultimately do more harm than good. "If the long term goal is to harden our infrastructure, have our energy independence, things like that – there are better ways to do it than using wholesale tariffs randomly on countries on goods that are not related to those things," he said. Nguyen said his team has been working to shore up international partnerships as trade conflicts threaten them. On the domestic front, the Commerce Department has been helping businesses diversify, finding them other trade opportunities to invest in other places. "But make no mistake, it's gonna be higher prices for most things in Washington state because of these tariffs," he said. "In the meantime, we're trying to provide resiliency for our businesses, diversification of their goods. and then also just helping them navigate what this quagmire might look like." By the numbers Nguyen said at least $296 million in the state's agricultural exports to Canada will be targeted by the country's retaliatory tariffs, with agricultural communities likely being the most impacted. According to the Washington Grain Commission, 90% of all Washington wheat is exported overseas. The group said farmers are not only concerned about international consumers being dissuaded by higher prices for their products, but tariffs raising costs on things like fertilizer and farm equipment coming into the country from Canada and China. Commission CEO Casey Chumrau said because grain is part of a commodity market, farmers cannot increase prices to address increased production costs. "So we're kind of getting squeezed on both ends if the production costs are going up, and if we're not able to sell for a higher price on the other side," she said. Chumrau said the impacts of tariffs on farmers are not fully known as the situation is constantly evolving. And while tariffs could bring economic benefits in the long term, they could do real harm in the near term. She said tariffs do not help as the farm economy has struggled in recent years due to inflation, increasing production costs and decreasing sale prices. "Our concern is, with kind of that fragile state of the farm economy, will those farmers be able to kind of bridge that short and medium term with the consequences that they might face, in order to realize those long-term benefits?" she said. Chumrau said the commission is "not critical of the tariffs" and will work with them as the group communicates to federal lawmakers the impacts they could have. She added the commission is hopeful productive negotiations can lead to exceptions or lower tariff rates, and they are doing what they can to support farmers as they try to navigate all the uncertainty ahead. The Source Information in this story is from Albert James, a television reporter covering state government as part of the Murrow News Fellowship program – a collaborative effort between news outlets statewide and Washington State University. Gov. Ferguson details $4 billion in spending cuts to address WA deficit Parents petition to remove WA substitute principal after past admissions of drug use 'Oops I did a crime': WA high school teacher charged with child porn First WA measles case of 2025 confirmed in King County infant 4.5 magnitude earthquake hits near Friday Harbor To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.
