Press Release

Commerce Secretary Gutierrez Hails Robust and Growing U.S. Economy

WASHINGTON—Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez today released the following statement on the second quarter real gross domestic product (GDP) report, which showed that the American economy grew at 3.4 percent in the second quarter of 2007:

“This 3.4 percent surge in growth is great news.

“A very important factor with today’s GDP growth is the President's policy on trade -- opening up markets, focusing on exports, helping exporters access markets.

“This is a very resilient economy; it's a very diversified economy; and it's a very flexible economy. That's the way we've been able to get through situations like 9/11, a recession, corporate scandals and natural disasters. This economy has been able to withstand many challenges.

“The fact that we are the largest exporter in the world, and we're growing our exports at a very fast pace, says a lot about our economy, our businesses, and our system. Exports were a very important contributor to this quarter's growth, and we need to stay on the path of promoting U.S. exports.”