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For Immediate Release: June 11, 2010
Contact: Mary Trupo (202) 482-3809
Small-and Medium-Sized Enterprises Key to Doubling U.S. Exports
Commerce Official Spotlights Obama Administration's National Export Initiative at Medical Device Forum
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A Commerce official today identified the medical device industry as a leading sector to grow the global economy and a pillar of President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI) which is aimed at doubling U.S exports and supporting two million jobs in the next five years.
Courtney Gregoire, the International Trade Administration’s NEI Director, emphasized that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can play a vital role in creating jobs and growing the economy through exports during her remarks at the NEI SME Medical Device Exporter Seminar in Minneapolis.
“With the National Export Initiative, American businesses that want to export—especially small- and medium-sized enterprises—are going to have a more vigorous partner in the U.S. government,” said Gregoire. “While the NEI is a nationwide effort that will benefit exporters in all sectors and regions, the medical devices industry is a key segment of the health care industry which is very favorably positioned to succeed in a growing global economy. In fact, the medical device industry represents one of the few sectors of the U.S. economy with a trade surplus.”
Medical devices are a critical segment within the healthcare industry, one of the pillars of the NEI. In 2009, U.S. exports of medical devices exceeded $36 billion, and the sector employed more than 357,700 workers
Total exports from Minnesota topped $15.5 billion in 2009. More than 88 percent of Minnesota’s 6,000 exporting companies are SMEs, which generate nearly 20 percent of the state’s total merchandise exports. Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 6.2 percent of Minnesota's total private-sector employment last year. More than 19.5 percent of all manufacturing workers in Minnesota depend on exports for their jobs.
The seminar, hosted by the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), the Minnesota Trade Office, Life Science Alley, and AdvaMed, focused on how small and medium-sized medical device companies can benefit from U.S. government export services and financial assistance.
ITA is the premier resource for American companies competing in the global marketplace and a leader in implementing the NEI, which provides more funding, more focus and, more coordination to increase U.S. exports. ITA’s efforts include increasing trade missions and reverse trade missions, and expediting financial assistance through the Market Development Cooperator Program for foreign market development. For more information, visit www.trade.gov.
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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.
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