August 6, 2010
Melanie Kaplan is an intern in the Office of Advisory Committees and entering her junior year at Wellesley College.
Hot off the press: the Secretary of Commerce has appointed twenty-four members to his Manufacturing Council. When I first heard that I would be working on the Manufacturing Council, I envisioned the traditional “Midwestern steel” companies. After a week of working on the Manufacturing Council, I realized that domestic steel producers were only one part of it with other types of manufactures representing a wide variety of U.S. industries.
Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (center) announces the appointment of 24 members of the Manufacturing Council
This spring, the Office of Advisory Committees did a nation-wide search for companies that would best represent the U.S. Manufacturing Sector. From small and medium enterprises (SME’s) to some of the largest manufacturing companies in the country, these companies will provide Secretary Locke with their unfiltered advice and expertise. The Manufacturing Council members announced by Secretary Locke yesterday afternoon at an official ceremony on Capitol Hill where the Secretary was joined by Senators Debbie Stabenow (MI), Sherrod Brown (OH), Jeff Merkley (OR) and Tom Udall (NM) represents the most diverse group of advisors in the Council’s history. The members, the companies and the industry sectors they represent are:
Bruce Sohn,
President |
First Solar, Inc., Chair (AZ) |
Joseph B. Anderson, Jr.,
Chairman & CEO |
TAG Holdings LLC, Vice Chair (MI) |
Luis Arguello,
President |
DemeTech (FL) |
Greg Bachmann,
Chairman & CEO |
Dymax Corporation (CT) |
Richard M. Beyer,
Chairman & CEO |
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (TX) |
Chandra Brown,
President
Vice President |
United Streetcar
Oregon Iron Works, Inc. (OR) |
Daniel DiMicco,
Chairman & CEO |
Nucor Corporation (NC) |
Al Fuller,
Chief Executive Officer |
Integrated Packaging Corporation (NJ) |
Michael Gambrell,
Executive Vice President |
The Dow Chemical Company (MI) |
David W. Hastings,
Chairman & CEO |
Mount Vernon Mills, Inc. (SC) |
Mary Isbister,
President |
GenMet (WI) |
Kellie Johnson,
President |
Ace Clearwater Enterprises (CA) |
Fred Keller,
Chairman & CEO |
Cascade Engineering (MI) |
Samuel Landol,
Chief Operating Officer |
Sealaska Corporation (AK/WA) |
Michael Laszkiewicz,
Vice President & General Manager |
Automation Power Control Business, Rockwell Automation, Inc. (WI) |
Daniel P. McGahn,
President & COO |
American Superconductor Corporation (MA) |
James B. McGregor,
Vice Chairman |
The McGregor Metalworking Companies (OH) |
Stephen MacMillan,
President, CEO & Chairman |
Stryker Corporation (MI) |
David Melton,
President & CEO |
Sacred Power Corporation (NM) |
Jason W. Speer,
Vice President & General Manager |
Quality Float Works, Inc. (IL) |
Ward J. Timken,
Chairman |
The Timken Company (OH) |
Peter Ungaro,
Chairman & CEO |
CRAY (WA) |
Jane L. Warner,
Executive Vice President |
Illinois Tool Works (IL) |
Donna L. Zobel,
Chairman & CEO |
Myron Zucker (MI) |
Ex Officio Members:
- Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy
- Hilda L. Solis, U.S. Secretary of Labor
- Timothy F. Geithner, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Many of the companies listed above are the first from their sectors… to be included on the Manufacturing Council. As an intern this summer, I helped the staffers to create a council that encouraged diversity, going green and an understanding of corporate responsibility. One of my favorite parts of the vetting process was seeing the innovative ways the companies gave back to their local, national and global communities. I was also inspired by one of the Manufacturing Council appointees who spoke with such fervor about the “next generation of manufacturing” and how it can and will contribute to U.S. global competitiveness.
Previous Manufacturing Councils have discussed energy costs and alternatives, sustainable manufacturing, tax credits for research and development, market access as well as a variety of other topics. In the upcoming meetings, the issue of credit access for SME’s and how to best allocate resources from American Investment & Recovery Act may be a few of the hottest topics. Additionally, the Manufacturing Council may be involved in Assistant Secretary Nicole Lamb-Hale’s manufacturing trade mission “Manufacture America: Rethink, Retool, Rebuild to Support Jobs” in Fall 2010. Stay tuned for more updates on the Manufacturing Council’s first official meeting scheduled for September 2010…
Posted in Competitiveness, Exporting, Green and Sustainable, Interagency, International Trade Administration, Manufacturing, Manufacturing and Services, National Export Initiative, Trade Advisory | Tagged DOC, Manufacturing, Locke, NEI, Manufacturing Council | 5 Comments »
July 27, 2010
Melanie Kaplan is an intern in the Office of Advisory Committees and entering her junior year at Wellesley College.
From the now infamous “shrimpers” to the hotel owners in Louisiana to the restaurant employees in Florida panhandle, the BP oil spill has caused wide-spread devastation. Not only is the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) working to counteract the damage, the whole Department of Commerce has stepped up to help Gulf Coast residents and businesses stay ahead of the “orange tide.” Everyone is making an effort to address the harrowing situation at hand from daily conference calls on an inter-bureau level to an inter-agency group working to provide needed relief. The International Trade Administration and the Office of Advisory Committees (OAC) are no exception and worked hard to plan this past Monday’s meeting of the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB) in New Orleans. Given the oil spill and the upcoming five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans seemed the perfect locale to step back and think about how the government and private sector can work together to promote travel and tourism in the region.
Secretary Locke, along with several other senior Commerce officials and the TTAB committee members supported those suffering from the damages of the oil spill by discussing how they can encourage travel and tourism in the Gulf. On that note, BP recently gave $15 million to the State of Louisiana to fund a marketing campaign to help combat the effects of the oil spill on tourism. At the meeting, Secretary Locke pointed out it was a welcomed contribution and reinforced that “the recovery is going to take a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of money and we’re going to have to continually hold BP accountable and hold its feet to the fire.” Furthermore, the unity demonstrated by government and business at the meeting highlighted the importance of the jobs created by the travel and tourism sector, which directly and indirectly includes one in every sixteen Americans. As an intern, I have helped plan the event from participating in conference calls to updating the guest list, and putting together briefing binders, and am happy to have made my own small contribution to improving the lives of the Gulf Coast residents and businesses. If you are interested in volunteering or just want more information on efforts to restore the Gulf, please visit RestoreTheGulf.gov, the official federal portal for the Deepwater BP oil spill response and recovery.
Posted in International Trade Administration, Travel & Tourism | Tagged DOC, travel, tourism, Locke, Commerce, Gulf, Deepwater, oil spill, Louisiana | 5 Comments »
July 19, 2010
Francisco J. Sánchez is the Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade
We traveled from Poland to Prague, where the magnificence of the cobblestone streets and crumbling spires are as historic as the government tender that is currently open for bidding - the two new nuclear power plants scheduled for building represent the largest single U.S. commercial opportunity not only in Czech, but in all of Europe. The project is worth an estimated $27.5 billion, and will create thousands and thousands of jobs. If Westinghouse, one of three companies in the final running along with competitors from France and Russia, wins the bid, billions of those dollars will represent new U.S. exports, and thousands of those jobs will be high-paying U.S. jobs. We are promoting a fair and transparent procurement process, for if that happens, we are confident nobody can match the experience, expertise and technology of powerhouse Westinghouse. This is what the National Export Initiative is all about.
After touring the actual Czech build site at Temelin, we traveled by bus through the sun-flowered rolling hills onwards to Slovakia and the charming capital of Bratislava. One barely notices when crossing the border of these neighboring countries, and their commercial ties are deeply intertwined as well. In fact, the largest energy project currently in the works would be constructed and operated as a joint venture – 51% owned by the Slovak government and 49% owned by the Czech Energy Works. As we have throughout this trade mission, we enjoyed a warm welcome by our local staff as well as government counterparts, and candid discussions on opportunities and working together. The tender here reflects the importance of financing in landing these enormous deals – as private financing must be secured for the entire cost of the project. This is where our inter-agency efforts are critical, and our ability to provide access to capital and financing for our companies essential in enhancing our exports abroad.
Posted in Competitiveness, Exporting, Interagency, International Trade Administration, Manufacturing, National Export Initiative, Trade Missions | Tagged Competitiveness, Interagency, NEI, export promotion, civil nuclear, Czech | 6 Comments »
July 19, 2010
Francisco J. Sánchez is the Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade
I have spent the last few days in Warsaw, Poland, on the first stop of a Civil Nuclear Trade Mission. Traveling with me are other member of the Department of Commerce, as well as team leads from the Department of State and the Department of Energy. The impressive government team represents this Administration’s commitment not only to nuclear energy, but to working together as an inter-agency unit to fulfill the goals of the National Export Initiative. We also have the pleasure of the company of nine of America’s top companies in the nuclear energy sector, as well as representation from our academic community. Together we represent the leadership, skills, support, and partnership to help this region of the world meet their nuclear energy goals. And our strong ally and friend Poland is the perfect place to start – here’s to old friendships and new partnerships!
Posted in Competitiveness, Exporting, Interagency, International Trade Administration, Manufacturing, National Export Initiative, Trade Missions | Tagged Poland, DOC, Interagency, NEI, energy, civil nuclear | 3 Comments »
July 16, 2010
Courtney Gregoire is Director, National Export Initiative.
Today, I moderated a panel at the White House Clean Energy Forum on “International Leadership, Competitiveness, and Exports” featuring three industry leaders: Bruce Sohn, President of First Solar; Mary Ann Wright, Vice President of Global Technology and Innovation Accelerator for Johnson Controls; and Steve Bolze, the President and CEO of GE Power and Water.
With approximately 100 clean energy business and thought leaders, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke kicked off the forum with his words: “The development of clean energy and energy efficient technologies could spur the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century.”
A spirited conversation ensued as panelists and audience members alike commented that the key to expanding clean energy exports is increasing domestic demand for clean energy, and that starts with enacting comprehensive energy legislation. Others commented on the significant clean energy investments made by other countries from China to Brazil to Germany. Competing in this globally competitive marketplace, as one audience member put it, requires a call for the “revolutionary, not evolutionary.”
ITA is attempting to rise to that challenge by developing a strategy to double renewable energy and energy efficiency exports in the next five years as part of President Obama’s National Export Initiative.
Posted in Competitiveness, Exporting, Green and Sustainable, International Trade Administration, Manufacturing, National Export Initiative | Tagged DOC, NEI, clean energy, White House | 2 Comments »
July 14, 2010
ITA’s Office of Health and Consumer Goods (ITA/MAS/OHCG) has begun organizing and conducting seminars for U.S. medical device small and medium-enterprises (SMEs) in partnership with industry and U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEACs) under the National Export Initiative or NEI.
Despite the economic odds, the medical devices industry has experienced dynamic growth in recent years. The U.S. medical devices industry has had a consistent trade surplus, and U.S. firms are the leading global producers of advanced technology medical devices.
OHCG hosted its very first seminar for medical device SMEs in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 11 led by ITA National NEI Director Courtney Gregoire. Attendees were also pleased to welcome Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar who has been an emphatic advocate for the medical device industry.
The seminar focused on the three subjects encapsulated in the NEI: access to export financing, export promotion efforts, and access to foreign markets (in this case, China and Canada). Ryan Kanne, Minneapolis USEAC Director, and I highlighted the services ITA offers to experienced and novice medical device exporters throughout the seminar. The event was very well received, as evidenced by the evaluation forms: one hundred percent of those received rated the event at “Very Good” or “Excellent.”
Remarkably, large multi-national medical device firms have been interested in supporting these export seminars, because SMEs are a major source of industry innovation and are also an important component of the medical devices supply chain. Also, firms participating in existing Department of Commerce public-private partnerships, such as Federal Express, have expressed interested in supporting medical devices NEI SME export seminars.
OHCG will work with medical devices industry associations (both national and regional), medical device firms, and USEACs to plan and organize SME seminars to advance the NEI. Four to five additional seminars are anticipated in 2011. Possible sites for these events include cities with significant medical device clusters such as Louisville, Kentucky, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, as well as areas of Southern California, and Florida. To keep up to date on current health care and medical device opportunities, visit the Health Technologies site on www.export.gov
Gerry Zapiain explains ITA's mission to potential SME exporters of medical devices at NEI event in Minneapolis, Minnesota Photo: Ryan Kanne, Dir. Minneapolis USEAC
Gerry Zapiain is an International Trade Specialist and has been with the International Trade Administration for over ten years in a variety of capacities. He currently serves as a Health Team International Trade Specialist in the Office of Health and Consumer Goods within Manufacturing and Services.
Posted in Exporting, International Trade Administration, National Export Initiative, Small Business | Tagged NEI, health technologies, medical devices, export seminars | 1 Comment »
July 12, 2010
(This post contains external links. Please review our external linking policy.)
Adam Wilczewski is the Director of Strategic Partnerships in the International Trade Administration’s U.S. Commercial Service. Stephanie Smedile is the Strategic Partnership Manager overseeing the U.S. Postal Service relationship.
The National Export Initiative is already driving broad government coordination – just take a look at www.trade.gov/nei to see what’s happening – but now the private sector is engaging in new ways, too.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Postmaster General John Potter shake hands after signing agreement to boost Exports in a ceremony on July 12, 2010.
Today Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and the U.S. Postal Service’s Postmaster General & CEO, John Potter, announced the launch of a new effort, the New Market Exporter Initiative (NMEI), to help boost U.S. exporters. The NMEI will identify current U.S. Postal Service customers who are exporting their goods and services abroad, and working with ITA, help them expand their reach to additional international markets. This initiative builds on an already successful relationship between the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Commercial Service’s Strategic Partnership Program.
With less than one percent of America’s 30 million companies exporting, and of those companies exporting, only 58 percent selling to one international market, we know there is potential for American companies to expand export sales. The NMEI’s goal is to educate U.S. exporters, particularly small and medium-sized companies, about the benefits of expanding their exports to additional markets. In addition, we want to inform them of the public and private sector resources to assist them. To reach our goal, we are engaging partners like the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS to provide assistance to targeted exporting customers.
The buzz is already starting – take a look at Bloomberg’s Businessweek or PR Newswire to learn more about today’s event.
Posted in Commercial Service, Exporting, International Trade Administration, National Export Initiative, Small Business | Tagged CS, DOC, corporate partners, partnerships, USPS, Strategic Partnerships, NMEI, New Market Exporter Initiative, Postal Service | 7 Comments »
July 7, 2010
Francisco J. Sánchez is the Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade
It is an exciting thing to further President Obama’s strategy to increase exports to support good-paying American jobs. Today, at the White House the President named important leaders of the business and labor community to the President’s Export Council, a group that will provide critical recommendations for the National Export Initiative. James McNerney, Chairman, President and CEO of The Boeing Company will serve as Chair and Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox Corporation will serve as Vice Chair.
Over the past couple months, ITA has been working hard to help American companies export more – from increasing our advocacy on behalf of U.S. businesses to leading a record number of trade missions overseas. Additionally, the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee has been developing strategies that will double exports in five years to support two million jobs.
Across the federal government, work is underway to improve coordination and maximize efforts to help American businesses take advantage of the increasing opportunities in the global marketplace. The leaders who were named to the PEC today will offer invaluable insight to how America can grow its exports to the same degree as other countries.
As the President said today, “This isn’t just about where jobs are today; this is where American jobs will be tomorrow. Ninety-five percent of the world’s customers and fastest growing markets are beyond our borders. So if we want to find new growth streams, if we want to find new markets and new opportunity, we’ve got to compete for those new customers -– because other nations are competing for those new customers.”
At the end of the day, increasing trade means increasing jobs for the American people.
And there is not anything more exciting than that.
Posted in Competitiveness, International Trade Administration, Manufacturing and Services, National Export Initiative | 4 Comments »
July 2, 2010
Grace Hu is a Presidential Management Fellow with the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Secretariat.
Update (7/22/10): We truly appreciate all of the comments offered here, however, to ensure your comments and suggestions are considered, please submit them through the process detailed in the Federal Register notice.
Do you have ideas for improving government programs to make it easier to export? Have you encountered challenges in exporting? If so, we want to hear from you. The Administration is embarking on a five-year National Export Initiative (NEI) to double U.S. exports. As the Federal government puts together a plan for implementing the NEI, we are looking for your insights and input. That is why the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) is soliciting comments from June 30 to July 26 through a Federal Register notice .
Specifically, we are interested in input from exporters, other private businesses, trade associations, academia, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties regarding:
- identification of Federal government programs or regulations that impede the ability of U.S. companies to export;
- effective foreign trade promotion programs and activities that could inform U.S. Federal government program development;
- identification of the most (or least) effective Federal government programs that support U.S. exports, including specific experiences with such Federal government programs;
- steps that the Federal government could take to improve its programs to support U.S. exports; and
- more generally, how the Federal government could better help U.S. businesses export.
Your input will help the TPCC agencies develop the NEI plan called for by the President in Executive Order 13534. If you are an exporter, business interested in exporting, or care about helping double exports over the next five years, please take a few minutes before the July 26, 2010 deadline to submit comments in response to the NEI Federal Register notice. We’re waiting to hear from you, and thank you in advance for your help.
About the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee
The TPCC is an interagency committee that coordinates the development of U.S. Government trade promotion policies and programs. The TPCC is composed of representatives from 20 Federal agencies and chaired by the Secretary of Commerce. Other agencies and offices represented include the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the Small Business Administration, the Departments of Agriculture, State, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Interior, Labor, Transportation and the Treasury, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council, the National Economic Council, and the Council of Economic Advisors.
Posted in National Export Initiative | Tagged federal register notice, national export initiative, trade promotion coordinating committee | 28 Comments »
June 16, 2010
This post contains external links. Please review our external linking policy
Tim Miles is Associate Director on the IT Team in Manufacturing and Services’ Office of Technology and Electronic Commerce and covers the U.S. software and IT services industries. He and his colleagues work with other ITA units and U.S. Government agencies on domestic and trade policy issues that affect the U.S. IT sector and provide counseling to U.S. IT exporters, especially small and medium-sized companies.
Information and communications technology (ICT) has become a significant source of energy consumption. ICT equipment now makes up about 5.3 percent of global electricity use and more than 9 percent of total U.S. electricity demand. The International Energy Agency (a unit of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris) predicts that the energy consumed by ICT worldwide will double by 2022 and increase three-fold by 2030 to 1,700 tera (trillion) watt hours. This will equal the current combined residential electricity use of the United States and Japan and will require the addition of nearly 280 giga (billion) watts of new generating capacity over the next twenty years, presenting a great challenge to electric utilities throughout the world.
On the other hand, ICT also enables greater energy efficiency. It has played and will continue to play a critical role in reducing energy waste and increasing energy efficiency throughout the economy. U.S. businesses have realized that the rising cost of energy is a pressing issue and have begun to invest in Green ICT.
The goal of Green ICT is to increase environmental sustainability throughout the entire ICT life-cycle along the following four complimentary paths:
Green use — reducing the energy consumption of computers and other information systems as well as using them in an environmentally sound manner
Green disposal — refurbishing and reusing old computers and properly recycling unwanted computers and other electronic equipment
Green design — designing energy-efficient and environmentally sound components, computers, servers, cooling equipment, and data centers
Green manufacturing — manufacturing electronic components, computers, and other associated subsystems with minimal impact on the environment
The adoption of Green ICT principles and practices in industry can help U.S. manufacturers become more cost competitive and contribute to reducing our nation’s energy dependence. Energy-efficiency studies show that a combination of improved operations, best practices, and state-of-the-art technologies can bring significant energy and electricity cost savings. For example, employing simple power management techniques, by adjusting settings to “standby or sleep” mode when personal computers or printers are inactive during business hours, can achieve at least a 20 percent reduction in electricity consumption and result in average savings of $50 per year for each PC. This means that power management of the 108 million desktop PCs in U.S. organizations could net around $5.4 billion.
More Information
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Technology and Electronic Commerce (OTEC) participated in a session on Green IT at the Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s National Conference in Orlando on May 5th. OTEC’s Green IT presentation focuses on the impact that IT has on energy consumption and the role of Green IT in energy-efficiency and carbon abatement. It also provides a review of best practices and examples of the energy and cost savings that can be achieved through Green IT. Click here for the presentation.
Posted in Exporting, Green and Sustainable, International Trade Administration | Tagged MAS, Bright Green, e-commerce, green IT | 5 Comments »
