White House releases NEI report

White House releases NEI report    The White House on Thursday released a report on the National Export Initiative in advance President Obama's Export Council meeting.
   The report, developed by the Export Promotion Cabinet, which includes the Commerce, State, Treasury, Agriculture and Labor secretaries and the heads of all the trade-related government agencies, provides an overview of the progress of the NEI and lays out a plan for reaching Obama's goals to double U.S. exports in five years.
   'Helping American companies sell more abroad will create jobs and boost our economy,' said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, in a statement. 'This report is a blueprint for doing just that.'
   The administration's efforts, through the NEI, are focused on five areas:
   ' Access to credit, especially for small and midsize firms.
   ' More trade advocacy and export promotion efforts.
   ' Remove barriers to the sale of U.S. goods and services abroad.
   ' Enforce trade rules.
   ' Pursue policies to increase global economic growth so there's a strong worldwide market for U.S. goods and services.
   The Commerce Department said the report outlines ways the federal government can expand efforts to help U.S. businesses 'win more foreign government contracts, find buyers worldwide, participate in more trade missions and trade shows, receive more export financing, and learn new ways to sell products and services overseas.'
   A major focus of the plan is on small and mid-sized businesses, which the administration views as the major drivers for generating new jobs.
   Key recommendations in the report include:
   ' National outreach campaign led by the Small Business Administration and other Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) agencies to raise awareness of export opportunities and government export assistance for U.S. small and midsize companies. The outreach also includes the relaunch of export.gov, the government's export Internet portal, with new export training opportunities to help companies learn how they can begin selling their products overseas or break into new markets if they're already exporting.
   ' Federal export assistance to bring more international buyers to U.S. trade shows and encourage more U.S. companies to participate in major international trade shows. For the first time, implement a government-wide export promotion strategy for six newly designated 'next tier' markets, including Colombia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam.
   ' Trade missions to substantially increase the number of trade missions abroad, particularly those led by senior U.S. government officials, and foreign buyer trade missions to the United States.
   ' Commercial advocacy to level the playing field for companies bidding on projects abroad through improved coordination among government export promotion programs, and formalize a path to increase advocacy projects for direct White House and National Economic Council involvement where necessary.
   ' Increase export credit through existing trade finance agencies, in addition to increasing awareness of credit products, focusing on SMEs and companies from underserved sectors of the U.S. economy, expanding eligibility criteria for SME export finance lending, and streamlining the application and review process for SME exporters.
   'The NEI provides more funding, more focus and more cabinet-level coordination to grow U.S. exports, and it represents the first time the United States has had a government-wide export-promotion strategy with focused attention from the president and his cabinet,' the Commerce Department said.
   Since the Obama administration announced the NEI, the Commerce Department's Advocacy Center has helped American companies compete for export opportunities, supporting $11.8 billion in U.S. exports and an estimated 70,000 jobs. To date, the department has coordinated 20 trade missions with more than 250 U.S. companies to 25 countries.
   The Agriculture Department has recruited more than 1,500 foreign buyers since January, while the State Department has developed a model for U.S. ambassadors to participate in 'reverse trade missions,' with the first mission scheduled for October. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has committed to hosting at least 30 reverse trade missions this year, representing more than $1 billion in U.S. export opportunities, and the Export-Import Bank has more than doubled its loan authorizations in the first half of the current fiscal year over the same period last year — from $5.9 billion to $13.2 billion.
   The Commerce Department said the NEI report will be followed by the National Export Strategy, also prepared by the TPCC, which will detail the implementation of these recommendations and measure progress. The National Export Strategy is delivered to Congress annually.
   The American Apparel & Footwear Association endorsed the president's export priorities, but said that import industries play a major role in the economy too and should not be ignored.
   The trade association also criticized the Federal Prison Industries program, saying more than 6,500 inmates make uniforms, footwear, parachutes and other textile items for U.S. soldiers. At a time when U.S. manufacturers seek more export opportunities, the prison work program is taking away domestic market share and employment opportunities, it said. ' Chris Gillis, Eric Kulisch contributed to this story