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Blog Category: International Trade Administration

U.S. Aerospace Supplier and Investment Mission to Canada Generates $1.34 Billion in Commercial Deals

Submitted on May 4, 2011 - 1:10pm
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Image of NOAA plane

Guest blog post by Suresh Kumar, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Promotion and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service

When people think of Canada they often think of hockey, moose, and cold weather, not aircraft.  In fact, Canada's aerospace industry is the fifth largest in the world ($22.2 billion in revenues in 2009) and the United States is Canada's largest supplier of aircraft parts and components.  Bombardier Aerospace, a Canadian manufacturer of commercial aircraft and business jets, has grown to be one of the top four aircraft manufacturers in the world, behind Boeing, Airbus, and Brazil’s Embraer.  Canada’s geographic proximity, open market economy and stable business climate make it an attractive market for U.S. aerospace companies.

To help U.S. companies take advantage of these export opportunities, I’m in Canada leading 21 companies on a three-day U.S. Aerospace Supplier and Investment Mission.  On the mission, we announced commercial signings worth $1.34 billion in U.S. contracts with Canadian aerospace firms, a figure representing over $800 million in U.S. export content.  

These newly signed commercial deals are a crucial part of our effort to strengthen the economy and will make an important contribution to manufacturing and job growth across the United States.

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Eating at California Pizza Kitchen in Mumbai

Submitted on April 18, 2011 - 4:00pm
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Assistant Secretary Nicole Lamb-Hale with the Entire Delegation

Fifteen globally recognized U.S. companies introduced their products and services to three of India’s major metropolitan markets during the Department of Commerce’s first-ever franchising trade mission to India. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Services Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale led the mission which included stops in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and New Delhi, April 10-15.

Among other stops, Lamb-Hale and the U.S. delegation visited a California Pizza Kitchen in Mumbai to highlight the success of current American brands in India. She also celebrated the opening of the 200th Subway® franchise in India.

Mission participants completed more than 300 individual meetings with prospective investors, and public and private sector officials to explore the environment for their franchises. The franchise market in India has the potential to grow to $20 billion by 2020. Franchising in India is growing at an impressive rate of approximately 30 percent per year. Presently, there are 1,200 franchisors in India, of which 25 percent are of international origin, with U.S. companies the most prevalent. Learn more about the franchising trade mission to India.

Commerce Department Wraps Up Trade & Investment Program to Hannover, Germany with Promising Business Leads for Participating Economic Development Organizations

Submitted on April 11, 2011 - 9:30am
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Guest Blog Post by Brian McGowan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.

I’m excited to report that it was a very productive and successful five days for the 21 organizations that joined the U.S. Department of Commerce last week for an exciting exporting opportunity. The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)/International Trade Administration (ITA) Trade & Investment Program to Hannover Messe 2011 ended on Friday with promising leads for U.S. economic development organizations (EDOs) pursuing potential foreign investors and trading partners.

The program is the product of a unique partnership formed by EDA and ITA and its U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) and Invest In America (IIA) programs. This type of interagency collaboration is very important as we work together to increase the global competitiveness of America’s regions. The mission aimed to promote the Obama Administration's National Export Initiative (NEI) and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the United States. 

In total, our participating EDO’s held more than 400 meetings with potential foreign investors.  These connections are the first step in building relationships that can support regional growth and help create new jobs here at home.

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United States Department of Commerce Plan for Orderly Shutdown Due to Lapse of Congressional Appropriations

Submitted on April 7, 2011 - 10:45pm
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The current FY 2011 Continuing Resolution may expire without new budget authority. While it is not anticipated that there will be a lapse in appropriations, the Department must be prepared for a potential lapse in funding that would necessitate a significant reduction in operations.

Prior to a potential lapse in funding, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requires the Department to submit a draft plan for agency operations in the absence of appropriations (a "shutdown plan"). This plan will likely be modified with additional guidance from the Office of Personnel Management and OMB, as the situation develops, and may be changed by the Department, as circumstances warrant.

This plan complies with the guidance provided by the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce.

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application/pdf iconUnited States Department of Commerce Plan for Orderly Shutdown Due to Lapse of Congressional Appropriations

Hannover Messe 2011, Why We're Here

Submitted on April 5, 2011 - 12:15pm
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Trevor Hamilton, Vice President of Economic Development & Chief Economic Development Officer, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Michael M. Philpot, Executive Director, West Tennessee Industrial Association, Jackson, Tennessee talk about the EDA/ITA Trade and Investment Program to Hannover, Germany. Hamilton and Philpot are both economic developers attending Hannover Messe 2011 to look for investment opportunities for their regions. By participating in a trade show as globally significant as Hannover Messe, with the help of the Trade and Investment Program, they are able to promote their communities to foreign markets in a way that they couldn't with their normal resources. 

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Economic Development Organizations from Across the Nation Work to Create New Jobs at Hannover Messe 2011

Submitted on April 4, 2011 - 10:30am
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U.S. Ambassador to Germany Philip Murphy and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Brian McGowan open the Invest in America Pavilion at Hannover Messe 2011.

Guest Blog Post by Brian McGowan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.

21 Economic Development Organization’s (EDOs) from across the nation are working today to create new jobs in their regions by participating in the U.S. Trade & Investment Program to HANNOVER MESSE 2011, the world's largest industrial technology showcase. The event runs from April 4-8, 2011 in Hannover, Germany.

The purpose of the program is to promote the Obama administration's National Export Initiative (NEI) as well as to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the U.S. By leading regional business clusters abroad, the Department of Commerce is aiding communities in promoting their regions as ideal locations to do business.

The program is the product of a unique partnership formed by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the International Trade Administration’s U.S. Commercial Service (USCS), and Invest In America (IIA) programs. 

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U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Takes New Markets, New Jobs Export Tour to Los Angeles

Submitted on March 29, 2011 - 5:30pm
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Secretary Gary Locke Addresses Small Business Owners at APBO about the Resources that the Government is Providing to Connect Small- and Medium-sized Businesses with Foreign Buyers,

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke traveled to Los Angeles, Calif., today for the second stop of the New Markets, New Jobs small business outreach tour.  Joined by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and USC Marshall School of Business Dean James G. Ellis, Locke discussed the importance of exports to America’s economic recovery and job creation, and the resources that the government is providing to connect local small- and medium-sized businesses with foreign buyers, especially those from the Asia-Pacific markets, in order to help them sell more overseas and hire more at home.  

Announced on the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s National Export Initiative, New Markets, New Jobs is a year-long, interagency, multi-city outreach campaign designed to proactively bring government services to businesses across the country that are interested in exporting.  The tour was launched in Minneapolis in February, and will continue on to New Orleans, Louisiana in April and Wilmington, Delaware in May.

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video/mp4 iconExporting: A Personal Tale of Rotec Industries
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Exporting: A Personal Tale
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Winning the Future Through Education and Commerce

Submitted on March 28, 2011 - 10:45am
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Undersecretary Sanchez

Guest blog post by Francisco J. Sánchez who is Under Secretary for International Trade in the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration.

When we think about the vast work the Commerce Department does with exports, what do we picture? Food, perhaps. Textiles. Cutting-edge technologies. But what many don’t consider are the legions of international students who attend American colleges and universities. It might sound odd, but they are considered “exports.” Indeed, education plays a critical role in the work we do every day in the International Trade Administration.

That’s why I’m so pleased to announce that starting April 2, 2011, I will lead the largest education and services trade mission in the history of the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Accompanied by 56 U.S. colleges and universities, we will travel to Indonesia and Vietnam to expand U.S. educational opportunities for international students.

America is home to the best opportunities for higher education in the world.  More students come to the U.S. to study than any other country on the planet. International students’ tuition and living expenses alone brought almost $20 billion to the U.S. economy in the 2009-2010 academic year.

Our goals for this trip are extensive. Expanding U.S. educational opportunities for international students will have some direct benefits to our national economy.  By increasing domestic jobs and aiding innovation and research while strengthening our relations and ties abroad, the fact is that sharing our colleges with foreign-born students will make America that much more rich and robust.

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Spotlight on Commerce: Michelle O'Neill, Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade

Submitted on March 25, 2011 - 10:00am
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Michelle O'Neill, Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Spotlight on Commerce series, which highlights members of the Department of Commerce who are contributing to the president's vision of winning the future through their work.

Michelle O'Neill has been serving as Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade since November 2005.

I started my career in ITA as an intern in 1983 -- looking up tariff rates in Latin American countries for companies that called in.  Many of you are probably amazed that anyone could spend so many years in one organization, but during this course of time, I have moved around quite a bit across ITA – at least eight official jobs spanning our five business units.  These experiences have given me a deeper appreciation of what we can do as an organization to advance U.S. business interests globally.  Five Administrations, 11 Secretaries of Commerce, and 12 Under Secretaries of International Trade later, I am still as passionate for advancing fair and free trade today as when I first arrived in Washington.  (And I never imagined that I would be part of the organization’s leadership team!)

When I started my career in international trade, U.S. exports were $205 billion. Today, we export more than five times that amount, totaling more than $1 trillion worth in goods and services exports.  While we remain the number one exporter of goods and services, the volume of global trade has grown substantially over this period of time, and with that comes some challenges – and in many ways, the same challenges.  Back in the 1980s, the big concern was the $58 billion trade deficit and what we could do about it; today our trade deficit is nearly $380 billion – still a concern.  It’s been very interesting for me as a career civil servant, implementing and shaping trade policy across five Administrations. In many ways, I think the importance of international trade has stood the test of time with bipartisan support for increased trade liberalization, to varying degrees, across every Administration in my career. When I officially started ITA in 1987, the Uruguay Round had just begun; now we are in the midst of trying to bring a close to the Doha Round.  There was only one Free Trade Agreement in place with Israel. Now we have 17 FTAs in force – and hopefully three more in the horizon.  While the issues we debated have evolved -- reflecting changes in industry, new business models, and future technologies -- there has been general agreement that an open and competitive global marketplace is good for citizens, consumers, businesses, and governments.

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Last Day to Apply for Commerce Department Trade & Investment Program to HANNOVER MESSE 2011

Submitted on March 22, 2011 - 1:00pm
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Hannover Messe

From April 3-8, 2011, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) and International Trade Administration (ITA) will travel to Hannover, Germany to help lead a U.S. Trade & Investment Program to HANNOVER MESSE 2011, the world's largest industrial technology showcase.  By leading regional business clusters abroad, the Department of Commerce is supporting the Obama administration’s National Export Initiative (NEI) and working to attract U.S. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), by giving participating communities the opportunity to promote their regions as ideal locations to do business.

HANNOVER MESSE 2011 will provide the industrial community the opportunity to promote business initiatives in 13 industries – Industrial Automation; Motion, Drive & Automation; Energy; Power Plant Technology; Wind; MobiliTec; Digital Factory; ComVac; Industrial Supply; CoilTechnica; SurfaceTechnology; MicroNanoTec; and Research & Technology.

U.S. program participants will consist of state and local government officials focused on economic development, university officials engaged in economic development, and other non-profit economic development practitioners.  Today is the last day to apply to participate in the program. 

Get additional information about registration fees and how to apply for the U.S. Trade & Investment Program to HANNOVER MESSE 2011.

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