Building U.S. Exports Will Require More Than Talk

(Longview Daily News)

President Obama announced Wednesday that he’s forming a new export advisory council to help meet his goal of doubling exports over the next five years. Increasing international trade is key to Obama’s plans for job creation, according to Associated Press writer Tom Raum. “Export growth leads to job growth and economic growth,” the president said when announcing the new council. “At a time when jobs are in short supply, building exports is an imperative.”

Obama is right. Trade fuels the national economy in both good and bad economic times. Trade, in fact, has been one of a very few bright spots in this recession-battered economy. But it’s hard to take the president’s vow to dramatically increase exports seriously while he continues to allow three market-opening trade agreements negotiated during the previous administration to gather dust. Read more here.

Related: Waiting for a Trade Policy (New York Times)