Export Promotion Cabinet Submits Recommendations for Doubling Exports

The report represents a collaboration between the Export Promotion Cabinet and the 20 federal agencies that make up the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). In addition, the TPCC Secretariat reviewed over 175 responses to a Federal Register notice soliciting comments on the NEI.

Cabinet Makes Recommendations to Achieve Priorities of NEI

The Export Promotion Cabinet has developed recommendations to address the eight priorities¹ set out in the NEI Executive Order. These recommendations cover all five components of the NEI² cut across many Federal Government agencies, and focus on areas where concerted Federal Government efforts can help lift exports.

The Export Promotion Cabinet recommends that the following actions be taken:

Conclude Doha, TPP, Enact Pending FTAs, Address Foreign Trade Barriers

• Conclude an ambitious, balanced, and successful WTO Doha Round that achieves meaningful new market access in agriculture, goods and services;
• Conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement to expand access to key markets in the Asia-Pacific region;
• Resolve remaining issues with pending FTAs such as the U.S.-Korea FTA (KORUS FTA);
• Address foreign trade barriers -- especially significant non-tariff barriers -- through use of a wide range of U.S. trade policy tools vital for obtaining enhanced market access;
• Robust monitoring and enforcement of WTO trade rules and other U.S. trade agreements; and
• Ensure that U.S. exporters have the opportunities they were promised in prior trade agreements. (Robust enforcement is both a short-term and long-term priority and an effective way for the Federal Government to help increase exports.)

Expand export credit, improve government export credit programs

• Make more credit available through existing credit platforms and new products;
• Increase outreach to exporters, foreign buyers, bankers, and other entities in order to build awareness of Government assistance; and
• Make it easier for exporters and other customers to use Government credit programs by streamlining applications and internal processes.

More opportunity for U.S. companies to meet foreign buyers, promote green technology

• Create more opportunities for U.S. sellers to meet directly with foreign buyers by bringing more foreign buyer delegations to U.S. trade shows and by encouraging more U.S. companies to participate in major international trade shows; and
• Improve cooperation between TPCC agencies to encourage U.S. green technology companies to export by matching foreign buyers with U.S. producers.

Increase number of trade missions, coordinate with state governments, associations

• Increase the number of trade and reverse trade missions, including missions led by senior U.S. Government officials; and
• Improve coordination with state government trade offices and national trade associations.

Leverage govt agency advocacy, extend govt outreach efforts

• Leveraging multiple agencies’ assistance in the advocacy process and extending outreach efforts to make more U.S. companies aware of the Federal Government’s advocacy program.

National campaign to increase SME awareness, increase SME training opportunities

• Help identify small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that can begin or expand exporting through a national campaign to increase SME awareness of export opportunities and U.S. Government resources;
• Prepare SMEs to export successfully by increasing training opportunities for both SMEs and SME counselors;
• Connect SMEs to export opportunities by expanding access to programs and events that can unite U.S. sellers and foreign buyers; and
• Once SMEs have export opportunities, support them with a number of initiatives, including improving awareness of export finance programs.

Stimulate consumption in foreign countries

• A broad range of countries need to take policy actions that reduce their surpluses by stimulating domestic demand (especially consumption) and thereby increasing their demand for imports. Strong, sustainable, and more balanced global growth is therefore crucial to U.S. export growth.

Enhance focus on services sector, focus on growth sectors and emerging markets

• Build on the activities and initiatives outlined in the other priorities listed above with enhanced focus on the services sector;
• Ensure better data and measurement of the services economy to inform commercial decision-making and policy planning;
• Continue to assess and focus on key growth sectors and emerging markets such as China, India, and Brazil; increasing the number of foreign visitors to the U.S.; and
• Better coordinate services export promotion efforts.

(As part of the NEI, the President created an Export Promotion Cabinet consisting of top leaders from agencies that can contribute to the NEI, including from the Commerce, State and Treasury Departments, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Small Business Administration, the Export Import (Ex-Im) Bank and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Export Promotion Cabinet was tasked with submitting a coordinated, detailed plan to the President about how they will collectively enhance U.S. exports within 180 days of its creation.)

¹The eight NEI priorities are: exports by SMEs, federal export assistance, trade missions, commercial advocacy, increasing export credit, macroeconomic rebalancing, reducing barriers to trade, export promotion of services.

²The five components of NEI are advocacy and trade promotion; export financing; remove barriers to trade; enforce U.S. trade rules; and promote strong, sustainable, and balanced growth.

(See ITT’s Online Archives or 02/05/10 news, 10020520, for BP summary discussing creation of the Export Promotion Cabinet.

See ITT’s Online Archives or 07/12/10 news, 10071209, for BP summary of the TPCC’s request for comments on the NEI.)