October 2010 ITU
- Table of Contents
- Full Issue in PDF
- New Report on U.S. Export Policy Provides a Road Map to Continued Economic Recovery and Job Creation
- Manufacturers Embrace Sustainability in a Competitive World Market
- The Services Sector: How Best to Measure It?
- Short Takes
- Trade Calendar
- Featured Trade Event: Americas Competitiveness Forum
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Short Takes: News from the International Trade Administration
New Cooperative Agreement Focuses on Improving Competitiveness of U.S. Aerospace Industry
Dr. John Watret (left), executive vice president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Worldwide Campus, and Nicole Lamb-Hale (right), assistant secretary for manufacturing and services at the Department of Commerce, sign a memorandum of understanding in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 2010. The agreement provides for a number of collaborative efforts designed to help U.S. manufacturers in the aerospace sector. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo)
There was good news for the U.S. aerospace industry on September 15, 2010, when Nicole Lamb-Hale, the Commerce Department’s assistant secretary for manufacturing and services, and Dr. John Watret, executive vice president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Worldwide Campus, signed an agreement to undertake a number of cooperative actions with the goal of helping to enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. aerospace manufacturing industry.
“The president has called on us to double U.S. exports, and this agreement will help us increase the performance of U.S. aerospace companies,” said Lamb-Hale. “I am particularly pleased that we can do this during National Aerospace Week, which highlights the significant contribution of the U.S. aerospace industry to the nation’s security and economic growth.”
The United States is a world leader in the aerospace industry, exporting $81.4 billion worth of aerospace products in 2009. That year, the industry had a positive trade balance of $48.3 billion, which is the highest positive balance of all U.S. industries.
But aerospace is a fiercely competitive global industry. U.S. manufacturing companies often need help from the federal government to win orders in other countries by cutting red tape and by encouraging innovation. With more international orders, more Americans can go back to work and more can stay employed.
Under the terms of the agreement, the International Trade Administration (ITA) and Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus Center for Aviation and Aerospace Leadership will collaborate on industry outreach events and industry analysis that is specifically targeted at small and medium-sized aerospace manufacturers. This cooperative effort will support President Barack Obama’s National Export Initiative and the ITA’s Manufacture America program, which is a series of conferences designed to help U.S. manufacturers by exploring new products, markets, processes, and sources of finance, as well as many other educational activities.
For more information about the ITA’s Manufacture America program, as well as other initiatives focused on the manufacturing sector, visit www.manufacturing.gov.
Business Summit Looks to Strengthen U.S.–Georgia Business Ties
The opening session of the U.S.–Georgia Business Summit, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, September 8–9, 2010. From left to right: David Lee, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia; Vera Kobalia, Georgian minister of economy and sustainable development; Juan Verde, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for Europe; and John Bass, U.S. ambassador to Georgia. (photo courtesy of the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia)
More than 140 business and government representatives met in Tbilisi, Georgia, September 8–9, 2010, to participate in the second U.S.–Georgia Business Summit. The summit was organized by the International Trade Administration (ITA), with funding from the Department of State. It coincided with a five-member, Department of Commerce–certified trade mission to Georgia that was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia.
In recent years, Georgia has made impressive strides in liberalizing its economy and has sought closer commercial ties with Western Europe and the United States. The United States is Georgia’s fifth-largest trading partner. In 2009, U.S. exports of goods to Georgia totaled $363.8 million.
The summit began with a conference on September 8 that featured speakers from the Export–Import Bank of the United States, U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation, government of Georgia, and several multilateral development banks. Panels focused on tourism and franchising as best prospects for commercial cooperation between the two countries. A follow-up day of networking events on September 9 gave Georgian companies an opportunity to meet one on one with conference speakers and U.S. attendees. In all, more than 75 meetings were conducted.
In opening the summit, Juan Verde, deputy assistant secretary for Europe, noted that “the Commerce Department sees Georgia as a valuable partner in the Eurasia region and will continue its efforts to expand U.S.–Georgian business ties.”
As part of these efforts, ITA also held a business forum in San Francisco, California, on September 13 to promote U.S.–Georgia commercial ties. ITA will be conducting additional follow-up activities to support cooperation in the franchising and tourism sectors in Georgia. For more information, contact Ellen House of ITA, tel.: (202) 482-0360; e-mail: ellen.house@trade.gov.
Camuñez Confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Market Access and Compliance
On September 16, 2010, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Michael C. Camuñez as assistant secretary of commerce for market access and compliance. He will direct the International Trade Administration’s Market Access and Compliance (MAC) unit. MAC advocates for U.S. business interests abroad by identifying and working to eliminate foreign barriers to trade. It also monitors and enforces foreign compliance with trade agreements.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues at the Commerce Department to advance our trade objectives and to identify and eliminate trade barriers that hinder U.S. exports or investments abroad,” Camuñez said. “We will continue to use every possible tool to remove those barriers, ensure a level playing field for U.S. companies and workers, advance the NEI, and create new jobs for Americans.”
Camuñez, originally from Los Angeles, California, most recently served as special counsel to President Barack Obama in the Office of the White House Counsel. He previously served as special assistant to the president for presidential personnel.
Before joining the administration, Camuñez was a partner in the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he represented U.S. companies in a range of matters involving domestic and international commercial disputes. He also advised U.S. companies doing business abroad in Latin America and Europe on corporate compliance, anticorruption, and the risks associated with foreign investment and multinational business transactions. In the 1990s, he served as the senior policy adviser for national service in the Clinton administration, where he helped establish the Corporation for National Service and its signature program, AmeriCorps.
Contributors to this section include Jonathan Chesebro of the International Trade Administration’s Manufacturing and Services unit and Ellen House of the International Trade Administration’s Market Access and Compliance unit.
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