News and reports from the Department of Commerce.

Wisconsin-based companies Miron and Boldt have joined a growing list of construction industry leaders, including Bechtel and Turner, in supporting the Million Women in Construction Community Pledge. On Friday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo traveled to Milwaukee to join Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership WRTP | BIG STEP for a roundtable on women in construction and trades. During the event, she called on Wisconsin companies, unions, and training organizations to sign the pledge aimed at increasing women's participation in the...

The U.S. Department of Commerce has released its updated Climate Adaptation Plan, joining over 20 federal agencies in expanding efforts to ensure federal operations are increasingly resilient to the impacts of climate change. This initiative is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's broader National Climate Resilience Framework, which aims to align climate resilience investments across both public and private sectors through common principles and coordinated actions.

Heat is considered a silent killer, affecting the lives and health of people across the United States. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of 702 heat-related deaths occur each year in the country.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently unveiled a National Strategy for Inclusive Innovation aimed at broadening access to resources that foster innovation and entrepreneurship across diverse American communities. This initiative, developed in collaboration with the Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI2), seeks to stimulate economic growth, create quality jobs, and address global challenges by enhancing participation in STEM fields, inventorship, and innovation among historically underrepresented groups.

Juneteenth is not just a federal holiday but an observance of the perseverance and determination of African Americans throughout the nation's history. Early in his presidency, President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, commemorating June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas were informed of their emancipation. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met virtually with the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC) yesterday. During the meeting, Secretary Raimondo emphasized the Department of Commerce's role in addressing supply chain resilience and economic security challenges. She highlighted the importance of leveraging the Department’s Supply Chain Center to preemptively address supply chain issues in collaboration with the private sector and international partners.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Dr. Kao Kim Hourn to discuss the Department of Commerce’s commitment to ASEAN and its member countries. The meeting focused on opportunities to enhance trade and investment ties between the United States and the ASEAN region.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced the lineup of U.S. Cabinet members and senior White House officials who will speak at the 2024 SelectUSA Investment Summit. The event is scheduled to take place from June 23 to 26 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced today that the Department of Commerce and Rocket Lab, the parent company of SolAero Technologies Corp., have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $23.9 million in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. This proposed investment aims to bolster the supply of space-grade solar cells used in spacecraft and satellites by increasing Rocket Lab’s compound semiconductor production by 50% over the next three years. The project is expected to create over 100 direct manufacturing jobs.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Honourable Don Farrell, convened on June 6, 2024, for the third annual ministerial meeting of the Australia-United States Strategic Commercial Dialogue. This meeting took place alongside the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) ministerial meetings in Singapore.

Today, approximately two years since the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Tokyo, Japan, the 14 IPEF partners—Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Viet Nam—announced significant new achievements related to the IPEF Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience (Pillar II), the IPEF Agreement Relating to a Clean Economy (Pillar III), and the IPEF Agreement Relating to a Fair Economy (Pillar IV), as well as the...

Since President Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) two years ago, the United States and 13 other IPEF partners have worked to deepen long-term regional economic engagement. Over this period, these partners have progressed from a vision to three innovative economic cooperation agreements.

On June 6, 2024, approximately two years after President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), the United States and its 13 IPEF partners – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam – inaugurated the IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum. The forum aims to catalyze investment in sustainable infrastructure and climate technology projects aligned with strong environmental, social and governance-based (ESG) investing and labor standards....

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced today that the IPEF Upskilling Initiative has surpassed its initial goal, delivering over 10.9 million upskilling opportunities through in-person, hybrid, and online formats. This achievement exceeds the original target of 7 million opportunities by 2032.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo traveled to Singapore this week to participate in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Ministerial meeting. During the event, IPEF partners signed the Clean Economy Agreement, Fair Economy Agreement, and the Agreement on IPEF, further advancing progress on these accords as well as on the Supply Chain Agreement that came into force in February.