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The Latest From The Commerce Blog

Department of Commerce Helps American Company Secure $42 Million Contract With Colombia

Submitted on May 22, 2013 - 2:15pm
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Advocacy Center logo

Contract supports $38 million in U.S. exports

U.S. Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank today announced that L-3 Communications Corporation Warrior Systems Sector (Londonderry, New Hampshire) and its distributor Aviation Specialties Unlimited (Boise, Idaho) recently secured a contract from the Government of Colombia worth $42 million. The announcement comes on the heels of Acting Secretary Blank’s trade mission to Brazil, Colombia and Panama, which wrapped up on May 17. The trade mission included 20 U.S. firms with expertise in a wide variety of infrastructure industry sectors, and was intended to help American companies expand their business opportunities in Brazil, Colombia and Panama and promote U.S. exports.

“L-3’s export success is a concrete example of the Department of Commerce’s continued efforts to help U.S. firms be more competitive in this growing market,” said Acting Secretary Blank. “L-3 benefited from an aggressive, coordinated interagency commercial advocacy campaign spearheaded by our Advocacy Center to win a contract that will increase U.S. exports and support American jobs. With U.S. exports reaching an all-time high of $2.2 trillion in 2012, and supporting nearly 10 million American workers, the work of our Advocacy Center and U.S. embassies across the world is more important than ever. I congratulate L-3 Communications and their distributor Aviation Specialties Unlimited on winning this valuable contract.”

The contract will support $38 million in U.S. exports, as well as nearly 50 American jobs, according to L-3. Through this contract, L-3 will provide fully-assembled night-vision goggles, spare parts, tooling and test equipment to the Colombian government. Full release

NOAA’s Latest Mobile App Provides Free Nautical Charts for Recreational Boating

Submitted on May 21, 2013 - 10:40am
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Image of U.S. Coast Pilot guidebook and tablet displaying nautical map

Public is invited to try beta version of MyNOAACharts

As recreational boaters gear up for a summer of fun on coastal waters and the Great Lakes, Commercee's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is testing MyNOAACharts, a new mobile application that allows users to download NOAA nautical charts and editions of the U.S. Coast Pilot. The app, which is only designed for Android tablets for the testing period, was released on May 20.

MyNOAACharts, which can be used on land and on the water, has GPS built-in capabilities that allow users find their positions on a NOAA nautical chart. They can zoom in any specific location with a touch of the finger, or zoom out for the big picture to plan their day of sailing. The Coast Pilot has “geotagged” some of the major locations—embedding geographical information, such as latitude and longitude, directly into the chart so it is readable in the app—and provides links to appropriate federal regulations. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play™ app store. Full NOAA release

57 U.S. Companies and Organizations that Export Goods or Services Honored at the 2013 President’s “E” Awards Ceremony

Submitted on May 20, 2013 - 5:00pm
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Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank Honors More Than 50 U.S. Companies for Export Successes While Kenneth E. Hyatt, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade, Looks On

Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank today honored 57 U.S. companies and organizations that export goods or services at the 2013 President’s “E” Awards ceremony. This year marks the 51st anniversary of the “E” Awards, which recognize significant contributions to increasing American exports. Today’s set of honorees, many of which are small- and medium-sized enterprises, was the largest group in three decades to receive this distinguished award.

Winners of the 2013 “E” Awards represent diverse communities from 22 states across the country. They hail from places like Gilman, Conn., Cleveland, Ohio, Eagan, Minn., Parsons, Kan., Broussard, La. and Vacaville, Calif. Of the honorees recognized at today’s ceremony, 47 are small- or medium-sized enterprises, 33 are manufacturers, and 31 fall into both categories.

There are four categories in which companies can receive an award. This year, 37 companies were honored with the “E” Award for Exports for demonstrating a sustained increase in export sales over several years. Twelve companies that assist and facilitate export activities were honored with the “E” Award for Export Service. Five firms received the “E” Star Award for Exports, which recognizes previous “E” Award winners who have shown four years of additional export growth. Finally, three were awarded the “E” Star Award for Export Service, which recognizes previous “E” Award winners that have shown four years of continued support of exporters since first winning the “E” Award. Two companies are receiving the “E” Star Award for Exports for the second time, a first in the fifty-one year history of the program. Complete list of  “E” Award and "E" Star Award winners.