President Barack Obama, facing pressure to boost jobs to help an economic revival, unveiled a broad initiative on Feb. 4 to pry open foreign markets for U.S. exports, targeting emerging economies like China, India and Brazil.
Under a plan to double U.S. exports in five years, a comprehensive strategy will be developed to identify markets for fast-growing sectors such as environmental goods and services, renewable energy, healthcare and biotechnology, officials said.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, releasing details of the new National Export Initiative, said Obama ordered a cabinet level group to oversee the strategy with a vigorous effort to remove trade barriers and make accessible export financing to U.S. firms.
"This initiative will correct an economic blind spot that has allowed other countries to slowly chip away at the United States' international competitiveness," Locke said.
Obama's export drive is aimed at helping create two million jobs in the United States, still reeling from double digit unemployment that threatens to dampen its economic recovery. The new policy will see the creation of an "export promotion cabinet" reporting to the president, including leaders of the Commerce, State and Agriculture departments and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The move "represents the first time the United States will have a government-wide export promotion strategy with focused attention from the president and his cabinet," Locke said.
U.S. exports for the first 11 months of last year amounted to $1.411 trillion, compared to $1.827 trillion for the whole of 2008. "But while the U.S. is a major exporter, we are underperforming," Locke said. "U.S. exports as a percentage of GDP are still well below nearly all of our major economic competitors."
Exports support nearly 10 million jobs in America and almost seven million jobs in manufacturing -- and manufacturing jobs pay on average 15% more than the average wage.
"And for every one billion dollars in exports, 6,250 manufacturing jobs are created or supported," Locke said.
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