50th Anniversary Celebration Hosted at White House Commerce Secretary John Bryson and Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Michelle O’Neill were joined by Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett to honor 41 U.S. companies and organizations, many of which are small- and medium-sized enterprises, during World Trade Month at the President’s “E” Awards ceremony at the White House today. This year marks the 50th annual “E” Awards, which recognizes the significant contributions that companies and organizations have made to increasing American exports. This is the largest group of honorees to receive this distinguished award in the past twenty years.
The President’s “E” Award was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. There are four categories of the President’s “E” Awards. This year, 23 companies were honored with the “E” Award for Exports for demonstrating a sustained increase in export sales over several years; 10 received the “E” Star Award for Exports, which recognize previous “E” Award winners who have since shown three years of additional export growth; four were honored with the “E” Award for Export Service that assist and facilitate export activities; and four were honored with the “E” Star Award for Export Service that recognizes previous “E” Award winners that have shown three years of continued support of exporters since first winning the “E” Award.
“E” Award recipients contribute to the President’s National Export Initiative (NEI) goal of doubling U.S. exports in order to support American jobs. Since the implementation of the NEI in 2010, the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), which seeks to improve the global business environment and help U.S. firms to compete and win both at home and abroad, has assisted more than 9,200 U.S. companies record an export success, supporting more than $100 billion in U.S. exports. ITA also manages this award program, which has recognized more than 2,500 firms since its inception.
Companies receiving the “E” Award are:
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
