U.S. outlines National Export Initiative

U.S. outlines National Export Initiative

Obama

   President Obama believes U.S. exports are a key ingredient to the nation's economic recovery and through his National Export Initiative, launched Thursday, aims to double exports over the next five years to support 2 million American jobs.
   The initiative, proposed in the State of the Union speech last week, represents the first time the United States will have a government-wide export-promotion strategy with focused attention from the president and his Cabinet.
   'Increasing the export of American products and services to global markets can help revive the fortunes of U.S. companies, spur future economic growth and support jobs here at home,' said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at a luncheon before the National Press Club. 'This initiative will correct an economic blind spot that has allowed other countries to chip away at the United States' international competitiveness.'
   The initiative calls for a more robust effort by the Obama administration to expand its trade advocacy in numerous forms, especially small and mid-sized firms. This effort includes educating U.S. companies about opportunities overseas, directly connecting them with new customers and advocating more forcefully for their interests.

Locke

   The president called on the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which provides financing when private banks are unwilling or unable, to increase its financing available to small and mid-sized firms from $4 billion to $6 billion over the next year. The 2011 budget also allocates additional money to help the Ex-Im Bank administer this effort.
   The administration said, 'progress is already being made' at the bank. During the past three months alone, the Ex-Im Bank has authorized $1 billion in small business financings and added 112 new small business clients, many of whom were first-time exporters.
   The president increased the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration (ITA) fiscal year 2011 budget by 20 percent to help meet the goals of the export initiative. Those new resources will allow ITA to:
   ' Bring on as many as 328 trade experts to serve as advocates for U.S. companies.
   ' Assist more than 23,000 clients to begin or expand their export sales in 2011.
   ' Put a special focus on increasing the number of small and mid-sized firms exporting in more than one market by 50 percent during the next five years.
   ' Increase U.S. exporters' presence in emerging high-growth markets, such as China, India and Brazil.
   ' Develop a comprehensive strategy to identify market opportunities in fast-growing sectors like environmental goods and services, renewable energy, health care and biotechnology.
   Under the initiative, the 2011 budget also allocates $54 million to enhance the Department of Agriculture's export promotion activities. 'That is going to result in more technical assistance to help farmers sell specialty crops, more foreign country promotions extolling U.S. commodities, and more direct assistance helping our farmers develop new foreign markets and increase market share in existing markets,' the administration said.
   In addition, the export initiative directs the government to continue its efforts to remove barriers that prevent U.S. companies from receiving 'open and fair access' to overseas market, including fighting unfair tariff and non-tariff barriers and addressing practices that blatantly harm U.S. companies.
   'This administration will pursue trade agreements that are balanced, ambitious and improve market access for U.S. workers, firms, farmers and ranchers,' the Commerce Department said.
   Lastly, the initiative creates an Export Promotion Cabinet reporting to the president that will consist of top officials from agencies that can contribute to this effort, including the Commerce, State and Treasury departments; Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; Small Business Administration; Ex-Im Bank; and USDA.
   Many trade associations praised the Obama administration's export initiative.

Reinsch

   'Exports help fuel the U.S. economy, both directly by helping to boost our GDP and indirectly through job creation,' said Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council. 'Given the unemployment rate and the state of the U.S. and global economies, it is critical that the business community and the administration work together on efforts aimed at generating jobs and economic growth.'
   The ITA reported that exports accounted for nearly 13 percent of GDP in 2008, up from less than 5 percent in the 1950s. In addition, about 6 million manufacturing and non-manufacturing jobs count on a healthy export environment for domestic manufacturers.
   'With nearly 95 percent of the world's consumers outside of our border, helping U.S. companies reach these global markets is key,' said Nichole Westin, director of government affairs for the Coalition for Employment Through Exports. 'As the data show, opening markets to large U.S. companies also helps small business grow.'

Davis

   'UPS has been working with the Commerce Department's U.S. Commercial Service since 2007 to provide export assistance to smaller firms,' said Scott Davis, UPS's chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. 'Our experience shows us that once these firms pursue international expansion, they grow and they create jobs. We look forward to working with the president's team in a way we can on this new, important endeavor.'