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For Immediate Release: May 4, 2010
Contact: Mary Trupo (202) 482-3809
Commerce Under Secretary Francisco SÁnchez to Ramp Up National Export Initiative Activities for World Trade Month
WASHINGTON – In support of President Barack Obama’s goal to double exports during the next five years to support 2 million jobs, the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) will highlight the President’s National Export Initiative with export-related activities throughout May celebrating World Trade Month. The activities will target companies to help ensure they have the resources and information they need to effectively expand their exports to new and emerging markets.
“ITA is moving to identify new-to-market opportunities in the global economy for businesses of all sizes,” said Francisco Sánchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. “We are expanding the International Buyer Program, identifying emerging markets, and pinpointing new technologies with potential for growth. World Trade Month is an excellent time for all Americans to realize the value of trade to the American economy.”
The International Buyer Program (IBP) is a government-industry program designed to increase U.S. export sales by promoting international attendance at major U.S. industry trade shows.
Sánchez intends to promote the observance of World Trade Month in a series of events throughout the country and during upcoming trade missions to Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Meanwhile, in two weeks, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will embark on the Obama administration’s first cabinet-level trade mission – an initiative that will take him to Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing, China; and Jakarta, Indonesia.
With 95 percent of the world’s potential consumers living outside the United States, there are vast opportunities for American companies of all sizes to expand their business and support American jobs.
“We are working with the United Parcel Service, Federal Express and the U.S. Postal Service to help their current customers think about export opportunities to more countries and new markets,” stated Sánchez. “We have developed commercial engagement strategies to accelerate foreign trade development.”
World Trade Week was founded by Stanley T. Olafson, then-manager of the World Trade Department of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, in 1927. Initially created to promote the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, World Trade Week gained national recognition by 1935 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt officially granted it national observance through a proclamation. World Trade Week expanded its scope following World War II.
To learn more about World Trade Month, the National Export Initiative, and how exporting supports U.S. jobs, visit www.trade.gov/worldtrademonth.
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International Trade Administration
The International Trade Administration (ITA) is the premier resource for American companies competing in the global marketplace. ITA has 2,100 employees assisting U.S. exporters in more than 100 U.S. cities and 77 countries worldwide. For more information on ITA visit www.trade.gov.
The International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, manages this global trade site to provide access to ITA information on promoting trade and investment, strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. industry, and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein. This site contains PDF documents. A PDF reader is available from Adobe Systems Incorporated.