Investments, Exports Create A Better Bargain for the United States
August 1, 2013This post contains external links. Please review our external linking policy.
Francisco J. Sánchez is the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade.
President Obama wants to create “a national strategy to make sure that every single person who’s willing to work hard in this country has a chance to succeed in the 21st century economy.”
It’s a better bargain for the middle class.
At the International Trade Administration, we are proud that our mission is a key part this strategy. As President Obama pointed out in Chattanooga on Tuesday, foreign direct investment (FDI) and exports are key to supporting middle class jobs throughout the United States.
As we’ve noted previously, FDI in our country supports more than five million American jobs. The United States’ record-setting growth trend in exports supported nearly 10 million jobs nationwide in 2012.
The Obama Administration is hard at work to make sure that exports and investment grow – because their growth supports jobs at home. As part of the administration’s efforts, I’m very excited that we are hosting the upcoming SelectUSA 2013 Investment Summit. As the President said earlier this week, this conference will connect business leaders from around the world with local leaders “who are ready to prove there’s no better place to do business than right here in the United States of America.”
Pre-registration for the Summit is open now, and I know it will be the premier event for domestic and international investors looking to do business here.
President Obama has laid out his strategy to support economic growth and American jobs through FDI and export promotion. We are ready to support it and take it to the next level.
You can learn more about the SelectUSA Summit at selectusasummit.com.
For businesses looking to begin exporting or expand their current export portfolio, please contact your nearest Export Assistance Center for assistance.
Now, let’s get to work.
You can read the president’s entire speech as prepared for delivery. An excerpt is below:
Number four, we’ve got to export more. We want to send American goods all around the world. A year ago, I signed a new trade agreement with Korea, because they were selling a lot of Hyundais here, but we weren’t selling a lot of GM cars over there. Since we signed that deal, our Big Three automakers are selling 18 percent more cars in Korea than they were.
So now we’ve got to help more of our businesses do the same thing. I’m asking Congress for the authority to negotiate the best trade deals possible for our workers, and combine it with robust training and assistance measures to make sure our workers have the support and the skills they need for this new global competition. And we’re going to have to sharpen our competitive edge in the global job marketplace.
Two years ago, we created something called SelectUSA. This is a coordinated effort to attract foreign companies looking to invest and create jobs here in the United States. And today I’m directing my Cabinet to expand these efforts. And this October, I’m going to bring business leaders from around the world, and I’m going to connect them to state leaders and local leaders like your mayor who are ready to prove there’s no better place to do business than right here in the United States of America.
Tradeology, the ITA Blog 