For Immediate Release: June 2, 2011
Contact: Cory Churches (202) 482-3809
Commerce Assistant Secretary Takes New Markets, New Jobs Tour to Wichita
Wichita, Kans. –Commerce Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale delivered keynote remarks today during the “ExportNow: New Markets, New Jobs for Kansas” event where more than 150 companies learned about the economic opportunities of international trade.
“President Obama has challenged the nation to double U.S. exports by 2015 because the simple fact is that the more American and Kansas companies export, the more they produce,” said Lamb-Hale. “The more they produce the more workers they need. And that means jobs. Good paying jobs here at home.”
A full program of panels throughout the day informed participants about strategies and resources that can lead a Kansas business into the global marketplace. The conference was organized by the Wichita-based Kansas World Trade Center. The City of Wichita is among more than 20 co-sponsors of the event.
Lamb-Hale delivered keynote remarks at the event, where she spoke about President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI), which aims to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014 in support of several million jobs. The NEI enhances the U.S. government’s trade promotion efforts, increases credit to businesses for export sales, and targets foreign trade barriers for removal. Expert speakers from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Export-Import Bank of the United States joined state and local officials in a variety of sessions.
Announced on the one-year anniversary of the NEI, the New Markets, New Jobs tour is an interagency, multi-city outreach campaign spearheaded by the Commerce Department, designed to connect small and medium-sized businesses with the resources they need to sell more of what they make overseas. New Markets, New Jobs kicked off in Minneapolis in February, made its second stop in Los Angeles in March and third stop in New Orleans in April, and most recently to Wilmington. The state of Kansas generated $10 billion in goods exports last year, led by Wichita businesses who accounted for half of that total. Kansas is home to more than 2,400 individual company exporters. Every $1 billion in exports supports an estimated 6,000 jobs, marking this area as one of the brightest opportunities for the state’s economy.
###
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.