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NORFOLK, Neb. — With international trade missions looming in the fall, Nebraska’s Secretary of State is sharing his thoughts on the impact of possible tariffs.

Secretary Bob Evnen is leading Nebraska trade missions to Egypt and Israel in October and November. He says the missions are a chance to use the status of his office to facilitate business to business meetings, visit with relevant ministers and coordinate meetings between universities.

The missions will come in the shadow of an international trade war centered around the threat of tariffs instituted by the United States. Evnen doesn’t expect trade policy to have a big impact on the missions.

“We have always been received warmly, we have always been treated in a cordial and hospitable way and people are always sincerely interested in trade with the United States," Evnen said. "I don’t anticipate that that’s going to change. We may hear something about it, I wouldn’t be surprised at that, but I don’t expect that it’s going to impact the relationships that we build at all.”

Evnen’s office is coming off a busy year of managing statewide elections. He led a campaign to educate voters on Nebraska’s new voter ID laws ahead of the primary and general elections. The US Election Assistance Commission awarded his office with a national Clearinghouse Award for its communication efforts.

“The way that we know that it went well, the way that we know that people were well-informed is because we had very little problems at the polls and we have very little problem with our early voters,” Evnen said.