Obama Announces Plan to Boost Exports

(Video: Bloomberg • Story: MSNBC)



President Obama announced a series of proposals aimed doubling U.S. exports over the next five years, a goal he set in his State of the Union address.

America is already the world’s No. 1 exporter and the White House intends to stay in the lead, said a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the president’s National Export Initiative ahead of the speech.

The president believes that increasing exports, along with strengthening the country’s education system and promoting clean energy jobs, are key to making sure America can compete in the 21st century global economy. Nationwide unemployment remains high at 9.7 percent as the country struggles to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and Obama said doubling the nation’s exports will support two million jobs. […]

According to the official, most of the proposals that make up this export initiative can be done without legislation through the existing authority granted to agencies including the Commerce Department, the State Department, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank and the Small Business Administration. However, the proposal to increase funding for export promotion programs by $134 million is included in the budget for FY2011, which Congress must approve. Read more here.

Related:
• Obama to Create Export Task Force to Push Trade (NYT)
• Obama’s Speech on Export Policy (UPI)