Archive for August, 2012

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Building Brazil -U.S. Ties through Education

August 31, 2012

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Francisco Sánchez is the Under Secretary for International Trade

The first-ever U.S. Department of Commerce Education Mission to Brazil,taking place this week (August 30-Sept. 6), represents an important opportunity to further strengthen cultural and economic ties between our nations.

Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez launches the Education Fair in Brazilia, Brazil (Photo Commerce)

Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez launches the Education Fair in Brazilia, Brazil (Photo Commerce)

As the largest education mission our agency has organized to any country, I am both honored to lead this mission and enthusiastic about connecting U.S. higher learning institutions with Brazilian students seeking study opportunities in the United States.

During the mission, representatives from 66 accredited U.S. academic institutions will showcase their undergraduate, graduate, community college and intensive English language programs at Education Fairs in Brasilia, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.

We appreciate the leadership of U.S. Ambassador Thomas A. Shannon, Jr., and the U.S. Embassy in Brazil in providing strong support for this education mission as well as their longstanding efforts to promote educational exchanges between our countries.

As Brazil works to expand educational opportunities for its professional workforce, we applaud the leadership of President Dilma Rousseff, and her country’s ambitious goal of sending 101,000 Brazilian students in science and technology fields overseas in the next four years, through her visionary initiative, Science without Borders (SWB).

We look forward to working with the Government of Brazil in achieving success in this nationwide scholarship program to promote higher education abroad. Within SWB, there are 75,000 scholarships funded by the Government of Brazil and 26,000 scholarships funded by the private sector. We want to see many of these future students in one of our exceptional educational institutions in the United States.

At the beginning of the SWB program in 2012, there were 500 Brazilian undergraduate students placed in U.S. schools, followed by an additional 1,400 students later this year. By the end of 2013, there will be 1,500 Brazilian Ph.D. students in U.S. universities.

The benefits to Brazil are numerous. There are inspiring examples of U.S.-educated Brazilian professionals who have returned to their country to strengthen development and innovation in Brazil. For example, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Marco Antônio Raupp earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago.

The Institute of International Education (IIE) reports that there were more than 9,000 Brazilians studying in the U.S. in the 201/12 academic year, a 25 percent increase from five years earlier, placing Brazil 14th among all countries with international students in the United States. Beyond that, IIE reports there are more international students (more than 723,000) in the United States than anywhere else.

President Obama— as demonstrated through the United States’100,000 Strong in the Americas initiative—shares a commitment with President Rousseff on the need to build partnerships that address the needs of a 21st century workforce. Brazil is an important partner in this effort, and these initiatives are expected to lead to even greater educational and cultural ties between our countries.

I look forward to spending time in Brazil with the members of the education mission, and advancing the goal of opening new doors to educational opportunity and collaboration. By expanding the avenues to higher learning, we will make a longstanding contribution to future generations who hold the key to continuing our shared prosperity.

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U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue: Fostering Increased Bilateral Trade

August 30, 2012

Maria Cameron is an International Trade Specialist and the Brazil desk officer within the International Trade Administration.

The United States and Brazil have a strong bilateral trade relationship. With a population of nearly 195 million and a rapidly growing middle class, Brazil stands out in the global marketplace for the tremendous opportunities it offers U.S. companies.

Total bilateral trade in 2011 amounted to more than $75 billion, more than twice the amount of our trade in 2000 at $29.2 billion. More impressive is the fact that Brazil’s GDP, which stood at $2.17 trillion in 2010, has increased by more than 75 percent in the last 10 years, despite one of the worst global economic downturns in history.

The 9th U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue held in Brasilia August 30, 2012

The 9th U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue held in Brasilia August 30, 2012 (Photo Commerce)

Brazil is expected to become the world’s fifth largest economy in the future and is a priority market for U.S. products and services exporters. Yet the fact remains —given the size of both of our economies and our closeness in culture and geography —our bilateral trade should be much greater.

Greater bilateral trade will be good for both of our economies, fostering economic growth, job creation and improved quality of life in both countries.

The U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue seeks to expand our trade by improving mutual understanding and use this understanding to jointly address the barriers that are preventing our bilateral trade from reaching its potential.

Unlike many formal negotiations, Commercial Dialogue discussions focus on mutually beneficial solutions to commercial problems that interfere with trade.

This week, the United States and Brazil celebrated the 9th formal gathering of the U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue, led by Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez and his Brazilian counterpart Secretary for Foreign Trade Tatiana Prazeres. The agenda reflects a focus on finding solutions to real world problems that inhibit the growth of bilateral trade.

Some of the topics discussed include:

  • Biofuel measurement standards: to ensure that bioethanol purchased from Brazil has the same quality as the bioethanol in the United States. Biofuels are finding expanded utilization in ground transportation systems, and more recently in aviation systems.
  • Patent process applications: to process application faster and more efficiently – officials shared strategies, including on workforce development issues such as telework policies.
  • Addressing health and safety issues: customs officials with health met with safety regulators to explore how to move goods more quickly across the borders while continuing to protect the health and safety of our citizens.
  • Education: increasing the number of Brazilian students studying in the United States through Brazil’s Science without Borders Program. Immediately following these meetings, Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez will lead, in Brazil the largest U.S. educational trade mission ever held to Brazil.
  • Supply chain: discuss ways to enhance global supply chains as a means to improved economic competitiveness and enhanced trade between the U.S. and Brazil.
  • Improving green business: recognizing a common objective to encourage greener and more efficient business practices, discussions on how to implement policies in a way that fosters opportunities rather than erects barriers.
  • U.S.-Brazil Strategic Energy Dialogue: discussions surrounding how to support and encourage a private sector role in the energy dialogue.

The real strength of the Dialogue is in the ongoing collaborative relationship that has grown between the United States and Brazil trade ministries. This relationship has fostered more creative problem solving and cooperation on mutual objectives with the goal of enabling our businesses to grow and thrive.

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Promoting Travel and Tourism to Help Increase our Exports

August 29, 2012

Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale is the Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services within the International Trade Administration

I was pleased to have the opportunity last Friday to speak at the Global Access Forum for Small Businesses hosted by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im), where I highlighted how this Administration is supporting the National Export Initiative(NEI) through travel and tourism. The NEI is the Obama Administration’s commitment to serve as a full partner with U.S. businesses to promote American-made goods and services worldwide. Among other things, the NEI focuses on improving trade advocacy and promotion efforts to increase exports.

(pictured from L to R) Mike McCartney, President and CEO, Hawaii Tourism Authority (the state's tourism agency), Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, Assistant Secretary Nicole Lamb-Hale, and Bruce Coppa, Chief of Staff, Governor's Office. (Photo Hawaii Tourism Authority)

(pictured from L to R) Mike McCartney, President and CEO, Hawaii Tourism Authority (the state’s tourism agency), Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, Assistant Secretary Nicole Lamb-Hale, and Bruce Coppa, Chief of Staff, Governor’s Office. (Photo Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Generating increased spending from international travelers to the U.S. is just one way we are increasing exports, and the Obama Administration has developed the National Travel and Tourism Strategy to help make progress on that front. The National Strategy delineates the United States government’s plan to increase American jobs by attracting and welcoming 100 million international visitors, who we estimate will spend $250 million annually, within 10 years. 

(Read the blog post by Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on the National Travel and Tourism Strategy for more information.)

I was pleased to share the Department of Commerce’s efforts on the National Travel and Tourism Strategy with the Global Access Forum for Small Business, an Ex-Im Bank initiative to increase the number of small businesses exporting goods and services, thereby maintaining and creating U.S. jobs. As a part of achieving these export goals, the Global Access Forum was an opportunity to encourage small businesses to make the investments that will allow them to benefit from increased tourism and spending by international visitors.

Hawaii was an ideal backdrop for this meeting, because it represents the diversity of experiences that America has to offer international visitors.

Overseas travel to Hawaii in 2011 totaled 2.3 million visitors, up 7 percent from 2010. The Hawaiian Islands were the fifth most visited U.S. destination by overseas travelers in 2011.

The efforts of Hawaiian businesses to sell their products and services to international travelers are a significant contributor to the United States’ success in international travel and tourism exports – which represents 11.3 percent of world traveler spending.

In fact, one quarter (25 percent) of all U.S. services exports come from travel and tourism receipts, and more than 1.2 million jobs in the United States are supported by international travelers.

It was my pleasure to engage the Hawaiian travel and tourism industry as we build on last year’s record $153 billion in travel and tourism exports for the U.S. and work to meet our goal of welcoming 100 million international visitors by the end of 2021 to increase American jobs.

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Exports Bring Jobs to the Twin Cities Region!

August 9, 2012

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Francisco Sánchez serves as the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. Follow him on Twitter @UnderSecSanchez

Since the 2012 Olympic Games began, Minnesotans have competed in sports ranging from basketball to fencing, proving that athletes from the North Star State can succeed on the global stage. The same can be said for Minnesota’s businesses. Today, I visited Minneapolis to meet with Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-5), Mayor R.T. Rybak business and community leaders. It was a great opportunity to see and hear firsthand how local entrepreneurs are designing and manufacturing quality products that are being exported all over the world.

Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-5) and Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez take questions from local companies during a business round table event in Minneapolis. (Photo Commerce)

Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-5) and Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez take questions from local companies during a business round table event in Minneapolis. (Photo Commerce)

For instance, I had the pleasure of visiting Accent Signage Systems, a small manufacturing company. A pioneer in innovative sign technology, Accent Signage is experiencing the direct benefits of exporting and has plans to increase its workforce by 25 percent in the near future. This is a gleaming example of a business that is successfully competing abroad, and, in doing so, is making a positive impact here at home. Stories like this are occurring throughout the Minneapolis region. The Minneapolis metropolitan area was the 9th largest export market in the United States in 2010. This success translates into jobs, because stronger businesses are more likely to expand and hire workers.

That’s why the National Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014, is such an important effort. When exports increase, so too does the benefits experienced by businesses and communities. Just last year, the United States economy saw a record-setting $2.1 trillion in exports, which supported nearly 10 million American jobs.

If we want to these numbers to rise, it’s imperative that American businesses know the Department of Commerce has resources to help them. Earlier this year we launched the “Build it Here, Sell it Everywhere: Commerce Comes to your Town” initiative to raise awareness about the resources available to help existing and potential exporters — with a clear focus on manufacturers.

Why manufacturers? Because manufacturing is responsible for much of America’s competitive edge on the world market. For instance, manufacturing is responsible for 70 percent of private sector research and development and 90 percent of patents — two of the most important investments to make for the future of our economy. And when you combine manufacturing and exporting, you get jobs. In fact, according to the latest data, nearly one-fifth of all manufacturing workers in Minnesota depended on exports for their jobs.

As the Under Secretary for International Trade, I have spent much of this year talking with leaders in important export and manufacturing hubs and spreading the word about the resources that Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) has to offer exporters.

International trade relationships can generate incredible economic value. These partnerships not only bring profits and support jobs, but also spur innovation and help American companies maintain their global competitiveness.

And ITA is committed to promoting trade and exports throughout America. The resources and expertise at our disposal can be invaluable to existing and potential exporters.

So reach out to us, and we’ll help you in any way we can.

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A Primer on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC

August 8, 2012

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Tyler Voorhees is working in the Office of Public Affairs at the International Trade Administration for the summer. He is starting his senior year at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.

We hope you enjoyed our month of covering transportation related exports in July. We talked about everything from the Farnborough Air Show to how remanufactured goods (including autos) can save your wallet and the environment.

During August, we will be highlighting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. APEC may not be a familiar topic outside international trade circles; however, it plays a vital role in the U.S. economy.

Under Secretary Sanchez (left) making remarks on innovation and Intellectual Property Rights at APEC St. Petersburg. (Photo APEC)

Under Secretary Sanchez (left) making remarks on innovation and Intellectual Property Rights at APEC St. Petersburg. (Photo APEC)

APEC was founded in 1989 to promote trade liberalization in the Asia-Pacific Region. Today, APEC has 21 members, including the United States and some of its largest trading partners such as Canada, Mexico, China and Japan. Together, the region is home to 40 percent of the world’s population, but accounts for approximately 54 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 44 percent of world trade.

Originally, APEC was founded because of the growing interdependence of Pacific Rim economies. Over the past two decades, this interdependence has only increased, giving the organization growing importance each year. The broad goal of APEC is to decrease trade and investment barriers, facilitate business in the region while working to raise living standards across the region through sustainable economic growth and ultimately lead to a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

Between 1989 and 1992, APEC met at a senior official and Ministerial level. In 1993, President Bill Clinton established the practice of an annual APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Since then, APEC leaders have gathered annually during “Leader’s Week” to meet and discuss economic and trade issues in the region.  In 2011, the U.S. hosted the APEC meetings on a variety of topics ranging from addressing business ethics and standards to small and medium-enterprise growth and women’s issues.

Last year, Leader’s Week took place in Honolulu, Hawaii. This year, Russia is set to host the meeting in Vladivostok, the largest Russian port in the Pacific. There have been several ministerial meetings throughout the year, but Leader’s Week is scheduled to take place September 2-9.

This year, Under Secretary for International Trade Francisco Sánchez led the U.S Delegation to the Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SME) Ministerial Meeting in St. Petersburg on August 3rd. There, he discussed the importance of SMEs to economic growth and international trade. Make sure to follow our blog for a  report of the SME meetings.

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Transportation: Helping the Economy Move Forward

August 7, 2012

Francisco Sánchez serves as the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. Follow him on Twitter @UnderSecSanchez.

Healthy economic development depends on a healthy transportation system.  That’s because people depend on everything from boats to trains to get to work, move their products, and help customers shop at their stores.

Across the globe, as economies push for more growth and development, there is increasing demand for transportation-related products and services, presenting an incredible opportunity for U.S. businesses.

Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez during a ceremony formalizing a partnership to promote exports between ITA and the American Association of Port Authorities.

Under Secretary Francisco Sánchez during a ceremony formalizing a partnership to promote exports between ITA and the American Association of Port Authorities.

For that exact reason, a major focus of our work at the International Trade Administration is on the transportation sector.  As you’ll see in this issue of International Trade Update, we’ve been working to help U.S. businesses in this field succeed in a number of ways.

For example, I was proud to participate in the Farnborough International Air Show, the world’s largest aerospace trade exhibition of 2012. Every other year, the global aerospace industry descends on England to exhibit their latest products and initiate partnerships. This year, $47 billion worth — that’s billion with a ‘b,’ — of orders were announced during the show.

As the largest aerospace industry in the world, this one sector contributed more than $89 billion in export sales to the U.S. economy in 2011, a 9 percent increase over the previous year. Furthermore, according to a study by the Economic and Statistics Administration of the Department of Commerce, aerospace directly supported more jobs through exports — 488,000 —than any other industry in 2011.

Other promising transportation sectors that achieved significant export shipments last year include motor vehicles ($63.4 billion), motor vehicle parts ($53.2 billion) and ships and boats ($2.4 billion).  Behind all these numbers is a significant story. Every time a business makes a sale abroad, that impacts bottom lines, jobs, communities and futures here at home.

Clearly, there are significant possibilities in this space. And the good news is that in the first five months of 2012, transportation equipment accounted for nearly $101 billion of U.S. exports, up 17.2 percent from the same months of 2011.

ITA is committed to keeping this momentum going. We continue to hold trade missions focused on transportation, including some later this year to South Africa, Zambia and Turkey.

We support the President’s recent announcement to help modernize and expand 5 major ports in the United States, thereby helping American businesses reach overseas markets more efficiently.

ITA is committed to keeping this momentum going.  We continue to raise a lot of awareness for our programs and will work hard to promote international trade, open foreign markets, and create jobs and opportunities for the American people.

Together, we can help the world meet its transportations needs far into the future, while strengthening businesses on our shores.

Related

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The U.S. Recreational Transportation Sector Tells the Rest of the World to Go Out and Play!

August 1, 2012

John Vanderwolf is an industry economist for the Office of Health and Consumer Goods and has been covering recreational products for 25 years.

There is no doubt that Americans love to recreate and travel.  U.S. manufacturers have responded and built fun, recreational products like motorcycles, pleasure boats, RVs, All-terrain Vehicles (ATVs), and other fun transportation to make us happy. Well, over the last 20 years foreign markets have begun to experience this fun transportation.  Servicing the U.S. market has given this industry an economies-of-scale advantage that negates the high cost of transportation. As a result in 2011, the U.S. recreational transportation sector enjoys a significant trade surplus of $1 billion which is 13 percent of total sector exports of $7.6 billion. Work hard, Play hard

The theme of “Work Hard, Play Hard” is being exported all over the world, selling to over 125 countries.  The Top 10 destinations for U.S. recreational transportation products are Canada, Belgium, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Germany, China, Brazil, Italy, and the United Kingdom.  U.S. exports of these products have increased 13 percent annually since 2009 and are estimated to exceed $8 billion in 2012.

That’s a lot of hard work that deserves more hard play.

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