May 2011 ITU
- Table of Contents
- Full Issue in PDF
- U.S. Institutions of Higher Education Explore Opportunities in Southeast Asia
- Wage Benefit Found in Export-Intensive Services Industries
- ITA Win: ITA Makes the Difference in Dog Fight Over Air Traffic Control System
- Short Takes
- Trade Calendar
- Featured Trade Event: Executive-Led Trade Mission to South Africa
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Short Takes: News from the International Trade Administration
Victims of 1996 Dubrovnik Crash Honored
Michelle O'Neill (center, in blue), deputy under secretary for international trade, at the Ronald Brown memorial in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on April 4, 2011. She was accompanied by staff members from the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service’s posts in Belgrade, Serbia; Vienna, Austria; Zagreb, Croatia; and Washington, D.C. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo)
On April 4, 2011, memorial services were held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the military jet crash on April 3, 1996, that took the life of Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown, five employees of the International Trade Administration (ITA), and 29 others who were accompanying him on a trade mission to the Balkans. Michelle O’Neill, deputy under secretary of commerce for international trade, represented the Department of Commerce at the service.
“I had the pleasure of working with Secretary Ronald Brown and of knowing many of those who perished here, so this has been an emotional day for me,” said O’Neill. “I would like to express my personal appreciation and the appreciation of the Department of Commerce to the people of Croatia for keeping the memory of all those who were lost here.”
O’Neill was in Dubrovnik to participate in the Brown Forum on U.S. and Southeast European Trade and Investment, which was a two-day conference organized by the United States and Croatia to continue the legacy of Brown’s 1996 trade mission.
The crash site on Stražišće peak in Dubrovnik is marked by a large stainless steel cross. A group of participants in the Brown Forum hiked to the site and participated in the commemorative service.
“This beautiful memorial is a fitting tribute,” noted O’Neill. “We miss all our friends and colleagues, and we thank [the people of Croatia] for helping to make sure they and their mission are never forgotten.”
U.S. Exporters Profiled in New Report
On April 12, 2011, the Census Bureau released “Profile of U.S. Importing and Exporting Companies, 2008–2009,” a report that provides a detailed snapshot of the universe of U.S. exporting and importing companies in 2008 and 2009. The International Trade Administration (ITA) partially funds the program that collected and analyzed the data used in the report.
Reflecting the effects of the recent recession, the report found that the number of identified exporters fell 4.8 percent, from 289,700 companies in 2008 to 275,800 in 2009. Similarly, the known value of goods exported fell 18.4 percent, from $1.15 trillion in 2008 to $939 billion in 2009.
Large companies (500 or more workers) were responsible for 67.2 percent ($631 billion) of the known export value in 2009, although they represented only 2.4 percent of the identified exporters. Large exporters were an even more dominant force in the manufacturing sector, accounting for 3.6 percent of exporting companies and 82.8 percent ($466 billion) of the known export value.
Of the exporters, 58.0 percent shipped to only one country. Although just 0.4 percent shipped to 50 or more countries, those exporters accounted for 48.3 percent of known export value.
The largest number of identified companies exported to Canada, followed by Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, and China. Only 3 of the top 25 U.S. export trading partners recorded an increase in the number of exporters from 2008 to 2009: Saudi Arabia (4.4 percent), Chile (1.2 percent), and Colombia (1.2 percent).
The report includes similarly detailed data on U.S. importers. For more information, visit www.trade.gov/mas/ian/tradestatistics/. The report is available at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/edb/2009/.
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