U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced that she will lead a high-level delegation of U.S. business leaders on an economic fact-finding mission to Poland and Turkey later this month. Secretary Pritzker and the business leaders, all of whom are members of the President’s Export Council (PEC), will use the trip to identify opportunities to increase trade and investment between the U.S. and Poland and the U.S. and Turkey, two high-potential, fast-growing markets.
Eight PEC members – including Vice Chair Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation – will join Secretary Pritzker and Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan M. Selig on the mission. The U.S. delegation will meet with Polish and Turkish government officials and business leaders to gather insight on opportunities and challenges facing U.S. companies in each respective market. Members of the PEC will produce a report on their findings, which will be presented to President Obama later this year.
“This trip represents commercial diplomacy in action. In an effort to identify opportunities for U.S. firms to strengthen partnerships, and to bolster our economic ties with both countries, some of America’s top business leaders will join me on my visit to Poland and Turkey,” said Secretary Pritzker. “Our objective is also to learn more about the economic opportunities in these fast-growing economies. At the Department of Commerce, we are committed to helping our companies gain better access to strong global markets so they can sell more American goods and services worldwide. I greatly appreciate the efforts and expertise of the President’s Export Council, and look forward to their insights.” Serving as the principal national advisory committee on international trade, the PEC was established in 1973 and advises the President on government policies and programs that affect U.S. trade performance; promotes export expansion; and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems among the business, industrial, agricultural, labor, and government sectors.
“Secretary Pritzker’s leadership of this fact-finding mission demonstrates the strong support of the Obama Administration and the Commerce Department to Poland and Turkey as growing markets for U.S. goods and services exports,” said Under Secretary Selig. “I’m excited to have some of America’s premiere companies with us on this trip as this mission will leverage the power of these companies and their CEOs to build upon the Obama administration’s commercial diplomacy efforts. Expanding bilateral trade and investment are critical to ensuring the mutual benefits of economic growth and job creation in all of our countries.” “I am privileged to lead what I know will be an incredibly valuable trip to Poland and Turkey for U.S. business leaders,” said Vice Chair Ursula Burns, “Poland and Turkey represent significant opportunities for new U.S. investment and growth.” In addition to Vice Chair Burns, the other PEC members comprising the delegation of the first PEC fact-finding mission of the Administration are: * Mary Andringa, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vermeer Corporation * Dick Friedman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Carpenter & Company * Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin Corporation * Raul Pedraza, Founder and President, Magno International * Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International * Patricia A. Woertz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Archer Daniels Midland Company * Robert Wolf, Chief Executive Officer, 32 Advisors Also participating in the mission are senior executives from the following PEC members: * AES Corporation * The Boeing Company * The Dow Chemical Company * eBay Inc.
* G&C Equipment Corporation * IBM * Pfizer * United Association The delegation’s report for President Obama will include observations, analysis, and guidance on a wide range of issues including: impediments to commercial opportunities, the preliminary benefits and opportunities in Poland related to on-going Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, outstanding topics raised in the recent U.S.-Turkey Framework for Strategic Economic & Commercial Cooperation meeting, and ways to enhance bilateral commercial linkages.
For more information about the PEC, its members or history, visit http://trade.gov/pec.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
