U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke traveled to Wilmington, Del. today for the fourth stop of New Markets, New Jobs, National Export Initiative small business outreach tour. Locke was joined by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Governor Jack Markell, U.S. Small Business Administration Deputy Administrator Marie Johns, U.S. Department of Agriculture Acting Under Secretary Michael Scuse, and Export-Import Bank Board Member Diane Farrell.
Locke delivered keynote remarks at the event, where he spoke about the administration’s efforts to implement President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI), which aims to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014 in support of several million jobs. The NEI enhances the U.S. government’s trade promotion efforts, increases credit to businesses looking to export, and continues to improve efforts to remove trade barriers for U.S. companies in foreign markets.
Announced on the one-year anniversary of the NEI, the New Markets, New Jobs tour is an interagency, multi-city outreach campaign spearheaded by the Commerce Department, designed to help connect small- and medium-sized businesses with the resources they need to sell more of what they make overseas. New Markets, New Jobs kicked off in Minneapolis in February, made its second stop in Los Angeles in March and third stop in New Orleans in April, before coming to Wilmington. Businesses from Delaware exported $5 billion worth of goods in 2010 – a 15-percent increase ($4.3 billion to $5.0 billion) from 2009.
Since taking the helm at the Commerce Department, Locke has played an instrumental role in promoting the products and services of U.S. businesses in foreign markets. As the Cabinet official in charge of implementing the NEI, Locke presided over a 17 percent increase in exports compared to 2009. During his tenure as Commerce Secretary, he led a clean energy trade mission to China and Indonesia in May 2010, a high-tech trade mission to India in February 2011, and a congressional-delegation to South Korea in April 2011 to build support for the U.S.-South Korea trade agreement. Under Locke’s leadership, since late January 2010, the Department has coordinated an unprecedented 51 trade missions in 35 countries, with over 770 companies participating and an anticipated $2 billion in increased exports for those firms. Locke also co-chaired two sessions of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, which helped to level the playing field for U.S. businesses and promote American products and services in the growing Chinese market. Exports to China saw a 32-percent increase in 2010 compared to 2009.
See Locke’s remarks from today’s New Markets, New Jobs small business outreach tour here.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
