Trade chief's resignation raises fears. (Scott Grant, president of the International Trade Resource Center)

Just when Dallas was beginning to distinguish itself as a leader in international trade, one of the city's strongest advocates in that arena stepped aside this week, leaving the future of his three-year-old organization in doubt.

Scott Grant, president of the International Trade Resource Center, submitted his resignation only five months after merging with the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce in an effort to centralize local economic development programs.

Supporters of the Trade Resource Center fear Grant's departure signals a failure to blend foreign trade into the system, and that the Chamber of Commerce's efforts to lure foreign investment here will take precedence.

Already, another group closely associated with the Trade Resource Center has moved to fill the void out of fear that businesses no longer will get help exporting their products abroad.

Now that Grant has been replaced by a Chamber of Commerce staffer, even some insiders wonder what the future …