Washington, D.C. -- Commerce Secretary William M. Daley today released the Seventh Annual National Export Strategy Report to Congress, outlining an aggressive trade agenda for expanding U.S. exports and helping American firms do business in China. 

The report, entitled "Working for America," outlines export strategies, including mobilizing the full force of E-commerce; strengthening foreign compliance with market opening agreements; and a commercial strategy for China.

"More than 80 percent of all U.S. exporters to China are small and medium-sized firms," Daley added. "This strategy helps ensure that American businesses have all the tools they need to compete in the burgeoning Chinese market." 

The commercial strategy for China includes the following:
 

• Compliance and monitoring: The President's Trade Compliance Initiative calls for increased resources to more than double the number of staff involved in monitoring China's compliance efforts. An office will be established to monitor dumping cases on Chinese products, we will place of trade experts in our embassy in China to monitor compliance and enforce U.S. trade laws. 
  
  
• Technical assistance: Through the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade and the Commercial Law Development Program, the TPCC will help the Chinese meet their WTO obligations.
  
  
• Export promotion: The TPCC will launch new promotional vehicles that take advantage of the Internet like virtual trade missions; help arrange purchasing missions to the United States; and expand the Ex-Im Bank's trade financing capability in China. 

• Strengthening trade agreement and monitoring and enforcement capability to ensure that U.S. exporters attain the maximum benefits of trade agreements. Increase by $22 million funding for agencies with responsibility for trade agreement compliance and administration of U.S. trade laws, including the hiring of more than 100 full time staff.

 
• Marshaling trade financing resources to help exporters penetrate attractive, but risky, overseas markets. We are requesting a $215 million increase over FY 2000 budget for Ex-Im Bank--the highest level of funding ever requested. This will enable the Bank to absorb higher international lending costs resulting from the financial crisis around the globe.

• Using technology to increase small business exports by making more U.S. Government programs accessible on the Internet. $11.6 million is being requested to develop next-generation trade promotion programs and services to help small manufacturers find markets abroad through an Internet-based infrastructure -- with an export advisor on every desktop.

• Promote U.S. environmental technology through the President's International Clean Energy Initiative. $103 million in increased funding is requested for a multi-agency program to facilitate up to $5 billion in new clean energy export revenues.

Copies of the report are available at www.ita.doc.gov/media.