U.S. seeks ports as export ambassadors

U.S. seeks ports as export ambassadors    The Obama administration wants to take advantage of U.S. port authorities' expertise in foreign trade and overseas contacts as part of its broad effort to double exports by the middle of the decade, a Commerce Department official said Tuesday.
   Courtney Gregoire, director of the National Export Initiative, proposed partnering with the American Association of Port Authorities to develop best practices for ports to expand and improve their export promotion efforts. She pointed to the Trade Connect program at the Port of Los Angeles as a model for educating U.S. businesses on the export process and helping them find customers.
   'For many exporters — particularly new-to-export firms and small-to-medium enterprises — the help provided by seaport executives can be crucial,' she said in an address to AAPA’s spring conference in Washington. 'They can help these exporters to identify overseas markets and trade leads, understand basic commercial transaction requirements, and address financing, insurance, trade documentation, and risk mitigation issues. Such seaports help their exporters make the connections between trade promotion resources and overseas customers that can lead to an export success.'
   More than 75 percent of merchandise exports by volume and more than 36 percent by value are transported by ocean transport.
   Gregoire said the Commerce Department also can do a better job of including seaports in high-level trade missions by working through the AAPA to inform ports about upcoming events. The trade missions can help ports identify potential customers for businesses back home and develop relationships with foreign government and port officials that can facilitate cargo processing.
   The AAPA and many other freight industry stakeholders have provided input to the Commerce and Transportation departments, which have collaborated during the past two years on a series of listening sessions across the country to gather input on how to improve supply chain infrastructure so that exporters can be more competitive. The two departments plan to hold joint forums this year in port cities such as Los Angeles, New York and New Orleans. The lessons are expected to help the administration develop a national freight policy, which many business leaders would like to become part of the next surface transportation reauthorization bill.
   Gregoire said the Commerce Department is working closely with the DOT on the bill.
   But a national freight policy may not be ready in time. Leaders in Congress are expected to try and pass a bill by the end of the summer.
   The outreach sessions are also important to demonstrate infrastructure needs in the backyards of lawmakers, who will decide on how much funding to provide, she told American Shipper after her presentation.
   The NEI, launched by Obama in February of last year, is a concerted, government-wide strategy to holistically address challenges faced by exporters, such as finding markets, access to credit, trade barriers, unfair foreign competition and slow economic growth.
   A Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee for 20 years has had responsibility for organizing executive branch export activities, but Commerce officials note that previous export promotion has been a part-time activity by some agencies instead of the full-time priority across the federal government that it is now.
   U.S. exports of goods and services increased almost 17 percent in 2010 to $1.83 trillion, the second-highest total ever and the largest year-over-year percentage change in 20 years.
   The rebound in the world economy increased demand for U.S. exports, but the NEI contributed to the positive results, Gregoire insisted.
   'What we think is truly remarkable is that export growth actually supported as much GDP growth as domestic consumption. And that's the first time on record that we're seeing a real balance in terms of how we're growing the U.S. economy,' she said in response to a question from the audience.
   Federal government support in the form of market research, financing and addressing market access barriers is critical in helping companies get started in international trade, she said. Only 1 percent of U.S. companies export, and of that number 58 percent ship goods to only one market.
   A primary goal is to help smaller U.S. companies navigate the maze of customs and bureaucratic issues that can impede trade, and make them more aware of existing assistance programs.
   The Commerce Department's Gold Key program, for example, helps companies develop strategies for doing business in a particular country.
   The administration also plans to elevate trade facilitation and logistics to the top of its trade agenda to help U.S. companies efficiently move their goods across borders to their customers, said Gregoire, a former aide to Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
   Reducing regulatory burdens and improving global infrastructure, she noted, will be prime topics for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that the United States will host in Hawaii late this year.
   The Commerce Department last year began a partnership with UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service to help companies identify new markets and available public and private resources.
   'They're often the first point of contact for a small-to-medium enterprise that is just starting to export. We wanted to ensure those sales forces really understood the federal resources available to them when they talked to the client so that a client who was stymied by a regulatory change over in Ireland didn't close up shop and say, 'I'm not doing international sales anymore,' ' Gregoire said.
   New presidential leadership has stressed the importance of inter-agency coordination, she noted. The intent is to provide a suite of export services rather than isolated programs that companies have to track down at different agencies. Extensive outreach efforts are designed to demonstrate how the federal programs work together.
   'At the end of the day,' she said, 'it should be a one-stop shop for U.S. companies who seek exporting.'
   Efforts to increase awareness of the government's resources include the creation of the Export.gov portal for export-related content. Gregoire said the online site is designed to be customer friendly and organized by resources and services, not by agency or department.
   Among the available resources are 107 Export Assistance Centers in 49 states. Last year the Commerce Department assisted 5,500 U.S. companies in exporting for the first time, or increase their overseas sales, 85 percent of which are small and midsize businesses. The Small Business Administration also authorized more than 1,200 loans totaling $532 million to help companies export. And the Export-Import Bank helped finance $34 billion in export sales for 3,300 companies.
   The administration has also focused on cross-training at the SBA, Commerce Department's International Trade Administration, the U.S. Trade Development Agency and other agencies so employees can advise callers about the right resources to use, she said.
   'So all that the company hears is what can we do for you, not can you try this other phone number.' ' Eric Kulisch