National Exports Initiative

Prepared remarks from the Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke.

In last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama announced a series of new proposals that will help put Americans back to work and our nation on a path to sustainable economic growth.

A key element in helping to meet that goal is a new National Export Initiative, which aims to double American exports over the next five years and support two million jobs here at home.

There have, of course, been previous endeavors by the government to elevate the importance of exports.

But what sets this effort apart is that this is the first time the United States will have a government-wide export-promotion strategy with focused attention from the president and his Cabinet.

This initiative will correct an economic blind spot that has allowed other countries to chip away at America’s international competitiveness.

Because for all of America's economic strengths, we stand out among developed nations as one of the few whose government does not have a focused, comprehensive and agile export strategy.

At a time when traditional drivers of U.S. economic growth like consumer and business spending are strained, we simply must elevate exports as a key part of our economic recovery efforts.

What the Obama administrations new “export focus” means for industrial real estate:

By the numbers:

Exports account for 11 percent of GDP,

Exports support 10 million jobs in America

Every 1 billion in exports supports 6,250 manufacturing and transportation jobs.

What the Obama Administration is proposing:

Gary Locke, the United States Commerce Secretary outlines a new Export Initiative which seeks to double American exports in the next five years.

What this means:

This would create 2 million jobs here in the U.S.

These 2 million additional workers would require upwards of 500 million SF of industrial space, much of which would be located within the Los Angeles Basin.

The Commerce Department would be advocating more forcibly for exporters, helping firms contract with companies overseas and directly connecting with new consumers.