President Gives Update on NEI Progress, Names Members to Export Council

NEI has Five Objectives

According to the President’s progress report, the NEI has five objectives: (1) improved advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters, (2) increased access to export financing, (3) reinforced efforts to remove barriers to trade, (4) enforcement of trade rules, and (5) the international promotion of policies leading to strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth.

Highlights of Administration’s Progress on Achieving NEI Objectives

The progress report notes that the Administration has made progress on all five objectives since the NEI was announced this effort in his State of the Union Address. Highlights of the Administration’s progress in achieving the NEI objectives include:

Efforts to remove trade barriers include KORUS FTA, USTR reports, etc. The President recently announced that he is instructing USTR Kirk to begin discussions with his Korean counterpart to resolve outstanding issues with the U.S. -- Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). The USTR has released two new reports on sanitary and phytosanitary barriers and technical barriers to trade that harm the ability of America's agricultural producers and manufacturers to export around the world. These reports will help focus U.S. efforts on opening new markets for U.S. exporters.

(See ITT’s Online Archives or 04/01/10 and 04/19/10 news, 10040105 and 10041917, for BP summary of these reports.)

Market opening efforts include Doha, TPP, Colombia and Panama FTAs. According to the President, the U.S. is upping efforts to remove barriers to trade and open new markets and new opportunities for U.S. business. On a global level, this begins with pushing hard in the Doha Round to improve those negotiations so that they have a higher level of ambition in the way that will translate directly into more opportunities for American exporters. Regionally, the U.S. is working on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement to expand our commercial presence in some of the most dynamic markets in Asia. The U.S. also wants to deepen and broaden its relations with Panama and Colombia and is working to resolve outstanding issues with the free trade agreements with those key partners, and the Administration is focused on submitting them as soon as possible for congressional consideration.

In addition, on July 16, Secretaries Clinton and Locke plan to host a business roundtable with the CEOs of multinational corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises to discuss barriers to U.S. exports.

The President stated that where U.S. businesses run up against barriers in individual markets, the Administration is acting. For example, in March, the U.S. reached an agreement with China to reopen the Chinese market to U.S. pork and pork products and in June, the U.S. agreed with Russia to reopen the Russian market to U.S. poultry exports.

Advocacy efforts include trade missions, business assistance centers, etc. The Department of Commerce has coordinated 18 trade missions with over 160 companies participating in 24 countries. The Department of Commerce’s Advocacy Center has assisted U.S. companies competing for international contracts and other U.S. export opportunities, The Administration plans to conduct 8 more trade missions over the next three months.

The U.S. is also moving forward with strengthening its business assistance centers across the country, and in its embassies and consulates abroad, so that they can provide a comprehensive toolkit of services to help potential exporters gain a foothold in new markets and expand.

Increased Ex-Im Bank export financing. The Export-Import Bank has more than doubled its loans to support U.S. exporters from the same period last year, from $5.9 billion in fiscal year 2009 to $13.2 billion in FY 2010, helping to support nearly 110,000 jobs. Small business authorizations have increased from $1.7 billion to $2.3 billion.

Enforcement of trade rules includes WTO Airbus decision. During the week of June 29, 2010, the World Trade Organization ruled that European governments subsidized Airbus’s large civil aircraft. This ruling is expected to sustain and even restore jobs to American aerospace workers by leveling the playing field for the U.S. aerospace industry.

Exports in First Four Months of 2010 Grew Almost 17%

As a result of the progress outlined above, and a global economic rebound, exports in the first four months of 2010 grew almost 17% from the same period last year. This puts the U.S. on track to reach the President’s goal of doubling exports and supporting several million new jobs over five years.

Export Promotion Council to Provide 180-Day Report to President in September

On July 6, 2010, the President met with his Export Promotion Cabinet, which reported on its successes in improving the international climate for U.S. exports. The President also announced plans to hold his Export Promotion Cabinet meetings quarterly to ensure the NEI is properly implemented and pursued. The Export Promotion Cabinet will be providing its 180 day report to the President in September.

President Names 18 Members to the President’s Export Council

In March 2010, the President announced W. James McNerney Jr. (Boeing) and Ursula Burns (Xerox) were named Chairman and Vice Chair of the President’s Export Council. Members of the President’s Export Council announced on July 7, 2010 who will join appointees from Congress and the Administration, are listed below:

• Mary Andringa, Vermeer Corporation
• Stephanie A. Burns, Dow Corning Corporation
• Scott Davis, UPS
• Richard L. Friedman, Carpenter & Company, Inc.
• Gene Hale, G&C Equipment Corporation
• C. Robert Henrikson, MetLife, Inc.
• William Hite, United Association¹
• Robert A. Iger, The Walt Disney Corporation
• Charles Kaye, Warburg Pincus
• Jeffrey Kindler, Pfizer
• Andrew Liveris, The Dow Chemical Company
• Robert A. Mandell, Greater Properties
• Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Company
• Raul Pedraza, Magno International L.P.
• Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon
• Glenn Tilton, UAL Corporation
• James S. Turley, Ernst & Young
• Patricia Woertz, Archer Daniels Midland Company

¹The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada.

President’s remarks available here.