Export Grants

Archive for the ‘government action’ Category

Barack Obama believes that updating export restrictions with historic roots in the Cold War to help create new jobs and boost economic growth.

We are losing business opportunities unnecessarily. We’re also, I actually think, impeding effective monitoring of our national security because if you have export controls across everything you’re not spending time focusing on the handful of things that really do touch on sensitive national security. It’s going to be entirely grounded in our national security needs but I think will have a strong potential impact on where we can go in terms of exports. This is something we believe in and we want to continue to pursue.

U.S. companies have complained for years that they are loosing out on lucrative government sponsored contracts to Europe and Asia because many rules were put in place 30 years ago to prevent high value technology to find its way to Russia. Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to lay out plans for revamping U.S. export controls in the coming days to help facilitate this. The Milken Institute recently completed a study sponsored by the National Association of Manufacturers and they estimate that modernizing these controls would boost economic output by $65 billion dollars and have the potential to create over 150,000 manufacturing jobs.

Export controls were last attempted to be revamped early in 2001, however when the September 11th attacks took place, these negotiation never were able to be put to a vote through congress. Currently exports of high technological value are approved on a transaction-by-transaction approach which has a huge backlog. Changes will also help different government agencies to work together rather then with competing goals.

On March 11th, 2010 President Obama signed an executive order outlining the creation of a National Export Initiative. This iniative that will direct federal resources appropriately to improve conditisions where private sector businesses are able to export goods.

Grants and Financing

Funds will be focused on small buisnesses via grants and other financing sources. This initiative consist of a cabinet of 14 members – while leaving the option for more at a later date. This will cabinet consists of:

• The Secretary of State
• The Secretary of the Treasury
• The Secretary of Agriculture
• The Secretary of Commerce
• The Secretary of Labor
• The Director of the Office of Management and Budget
• The United States Trade Representative
• The Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
• The National Security Advisor
• The Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
• The President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
• The Administrator of the Small Business Administration
• The President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
• The Director of the United States Trade and Development Agency

This cabinet will report to the president periodically to report on the progress of any initiative and should colaborate with the Trade Promotion Coordinating Comettee (TPCC) in executing initiatives through the NEI.

The Obama administration is going to make sure that the Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) has the funds it needs to double exports over the next five years which is one of the cornerstones to help bring more jobs to the country. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced on friday that:

We’re going to work hard to do what the president said, to make sure you have enough firepower to do sensible things to support American exporters. We think it’s good policy, but we need to do it carefully, make sure you’re putting it in areas where you’re going to get very good returns.

At the annimal Eximbank conference Geithner spoke alongside Eximbank President Fred Hochberg. If everything goes according to plan US Exports should rise to more then $3 trillion dollars over the next five years. Part of the plan inclides a new program to inject $2 billion dollars in loans for small and medium-sized exporters on top of the already authorized $21 billion in loan guarantees and export credit insurance. More money was pumped into these programs during the height of the global financial crisis when normal methods of loans for businesses dried up.

During the fiscal year 2010 so far, the amount given out has more then tripled the amount between October and December 2009. Geithner believes that exports are a measure of the American economy.

We do believe that exports are America’s future, and how American exporters are doing, how American businesses are doing around the world is a good measure of how America is doing.

On January 27th, Barack Obama gave his State of the Union address to the United States Congress. He looked back on what has been achieved (or not) over the last year and laid out his strategy for 2010 which included more of a focus on the economy, rather then his health reform plans which had been the cornerstone of his administration in 2009.

One of his plans to get the unemployment rate under control is to double the exports of the country over the next five years. A number which would create up to two million more jobs.

Because the more products we make and sell to other countries, the more jobs we support right here in America. So tonight, we set a new goal: We will double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support 2 million jobs in America. To help meet this goal, we’re launching a national export initiative that will help farmers and small businesses increase their exports, and reform export controls consistent with national security.

Finding markets for this increase will be a challenge, but through expanded free trade agreements with major economies in Asia and South America he is betting that they are out there. Some economists do not believe this can be achieved so easily as during the time of recession, many countries are taking steps to impose barriers to imports so as to boost their own economy. The Democratic party in the United States is also backed in large part by labor unions which are often opposed to free trade agreements. When other countries are able to trade on an equal footing with the United States, they are often able to take advantage of cheaper labor costs to gain a competitive advantage.

Here is the rest of Obama’s speech dealing with exports to grow the economy.

We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are. If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores. But realizing those benefits also means enforcing those agreements so our trading partners play by the rules. And that’s why we’ll continue to shape a Doha trade agreement that opens global markets, and why we will strengthen our trade relations in Asia and with key partners like South Korea and Panama and Colombia.