Trading Across our Borders
March 3, 2011Francisco Sánchez, Under Secretary for International Trade
When people think about exporting in the United States, they commonly think of destinations such as China and Europe.
Canada and Mexico, however, are also two of the strongest markets for American goods and services.
In fact, each day, the United States conducts $2.5 billion in trade with our neighbors. This, in turn, translates to $1.7 million a minute.
Last year, U.S. exports to Mexico grew more than 25 percent to more than $160 billion. In addition, the U.S. exported over $240 billion to Canada which is an increase of $45 billion over the previous year.
As you can imagine, the trade along our borders is an important priority to both the International Trade Administration and President Obama.
It is for that reason, that I spent this past Tuesday rolling out our new Border Export Strategy with colleagues in both San Diego and Tijuana.
The Border Export Strategy (BES) is a key component of President Obama’s National Export Initiative which aims to double U.S. exports by 2015. The BES will spur job creation and aid to our nation’s economic recovery.
ITA’s Border Export Strategy will increase export opportunities for U.S. companies along our shared borders by reducing trade barriers that impact the flow of secure, effective and legitimate commerce. The San Diego and Imperial Valley region was the perfect place for me to begin rolling out this strategy and I look forward to the weeks and months ahead.
My staff and I look forward to working with businesses and government officials to advance ITA’s Border Export Strategy and to achieve President Obama’s goals for the National Export Initiative.
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