Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Remarks at National Export Initiative Small Conference in Los Angeles, California

On March 29, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke made a speech on the National Export Initiative and the importance of exports.

http://www.youtube.com/user/CommerceNews#p/u/3/ziDstzcb17w

Highlights:

• The simple fact is that the more American companies export, the more they produce. The more they produce, the more workers they need. And that means jobs. Good paying jobs here at home. (5:32)

• Consider that exports directly support nearly 10 million U.S. jobs, more than 700,000 of them in California. (5:44)
• Or that one in three manufacturing jobs and almost one in five agricultural jobs are tied directly to exports. And these are good-paying jobs that pay 15 percent more than the typical wage in America. (5:53)
• Exports have been a key driver of America’s economic recovery, accounting for nearly half of U.S. economic growth since the recession ended in mid-2009. That represents export’s biggest share of U.S. growth over an 18-month stretch on record. (6:30)
• Consider the fact that only 1 percent of U.S. companies export – and of those that do, 58 percent export to only one country, typically to Mexico or Canada. Now, of course it’s important to sell more within the United States. But in a global economy where 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside U.S. borders, you’ve got to go where the customers are. (9:17)

The National Export Initiative or NEI, is designed to help more companies… (10:47)

• Work to design and implement a market entry or expansion strategy
• Conduct an international search to find potential agents or distributors for unique businesses
• Contact potential business overseas
• Connect with resources from other government partners

Full transcript