(Video: C-SPAN2 via MoxNews • Story: AP)
President Barack Obama declared good progress Wednesday on his pledge to double U.S. exports over the next five years, saying the nation’s sales abroad were up 17 percent in first four months of this year.
Speaking at the White House to a gathering of government and corporate officials, Obama said his administration is “bringing to bear the full resources of the United States government.”
“Our efforts are off to a solid start,” he said.
Obama has been emphasizing his efforts on the economy with increasing frequency lately, as fears rise that the nation’s already fragile recovery is weakening and perhaps headed to a second recession. Later in the week, he is scheduled to talk on the economy twice more, on a trip to Missouri and Nevada.
The topic of exports is especially important because the recovery has been driven far more by sales abroad and business and government spending than it has by consumer spending. And with critical midterm elections drawing closer, the White House want to burnish the administration’s image on the job-creation front. Read more here.
Related: The Grip of the Old Economy (Huffington Post)
