Port Authorities say freight infrastructure can’t handle doubling exports
Members of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) testified yesterday at a U.S. Senate Finance subcommittee hearing that the most significant constraint faced by seaports for increasing U.S. exports is the capacity and efficiency of the nation's freight transportation infrastructure. The Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness asked if U.S. seaports are ready to meet the goal set by President Obama of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years. According to the AAPA, while the ports have the capacity for higher volumes, the country’s highways, bridges, railroads, vessel navigation and marine terminal infrastructure are not up to the task.
The “transportation bottleneck” is one choice in the Datamyne one-question survey: What’s the biggest obstacle to exporting for U.S. companies right now? Other choices include: the credit crunch, too much red tape, fear of the unknown. You can cast your vote here.
Showing posts with label National Export Initiative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Export Initiative. Show all posts
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Speed Dating for Customers
The Commerce Dept. wants to make you a match
Last Thursday, Commerce Sec. Gary Locke took questions during a live webcast about the administration’s National Export Initiative (NEI) to double U.S. exports in the next five years. (You can watch the webcast at http://trade.gov/.)
American products are highly valued and in great demand abroad, Locke says. “We simply need to match up those American companies, especially the small and medium-size companies who don’t have a huge marketing department, to help them find the customers and buyers for those American-made products and services.”
Locke describes the work of his Dept.’s foreign commercial service officers and trade specialists in over 130 cities around the world: “Their sole job is to find customers and buyers for U.S. companies. It’s almost like speed dating. There are various programs where, for instance, our people will actually look up potential customers, arrange for them to come to one location, and you as a company owner would go, let’s say, to Budapest, Hungary, sit down in a room at the consulate, and we will bring, let’s say, eight or nine of those potential buyers or customers to you every half hour on the half hour, and you conduct the interviews.”
He’s talking about programs, starting with the Gold Key Program, that have been around for a while, as he acknowledges, but they haven’t been publicized enough. “Not enough people know of our services. And so that’s why we have a toll-free hotline to connect up with people … and we have people here in the U.S. that will sit down, talk with that American company, find out what their strengths, expertise is, and then connect them with potential markets around the world.”
We're happy to help by publicizing the hotline: 1-800-USA-trad(e). Can anyone who's called the hotline tell us what happened next?
Last Thursday, Commerce Sec. Gary Locke took questions during a live webcast about the administration’s National Export Initiative (NEI) to double U.S. exports in the next five years. (You can watch the webcast at http://trade.gov/.)
American products are highly valued and in great demand abroad, Locke says. “We simply need to match up those American companies, especially the small and medium-size companies who don’t have a huge marketing department, to help them find the customers and buyers for those American-made products and services.”
Locke describes the work of his Dept.’s foreign commercial service officers and trade specialists in over 130 cities around the world: “Their sole job is to find customers and buyers for U.S. companies. It’s almost like speed dating. There are various programs where, for instance, our people will actually look up potential customers, arrange for them to come to one location, and you as a company owner would go, let’s say, to Budapest, Hungary, sit down in a room at the consulate, and we will bring, let’s say, eight or nine of those potential buyers or customers to you every half hour on the half hour, and you conduct the interviews.”
He’s talking about programs, starting with the Gold Key Program, that have been around for a while, as he acknowledges, but they haven’t been publicized enough. “Not enough people know of our services. And so that’s why we have a toll-free hotline to connect up with people … and we have people here in the U.S. that will sit down, talk with that American company, find out what their strengths, expertise is, and then connect them with potential markets around the world.”
We're happy to help by publicizing the hotline: 1-800-USA-trad(e). Can anyone who's called the hotline tell us what happened next?
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Engine for growth
Betting that more exports = more jobs
The Obama administration’s National Export Initiative (NEI) aims to double U.S. exports over the next five years by expanding government promotion efforts. The ultimate goal is job creation. As the Economic Report of the President concludes: “If consumption and construction are not the drivers of growth going forward in the way they were in the early 2000s, two components of private demand are left to fill the gap: business investment excluding structures and net exports.” In 2008, exports represented the work of roughly 10 million American workers.
The NEI calls for an additional $132 million for the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA), and the Department of Agriculture to educate farmers and businesses about opportunities overseas and directly connect them with new customers. The NEI also seeks improved access to credit, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses, and increased government focus on knocking down barriers that keep U.S. companies from foreign markets. (Read more details here.)
Of course, you don’t have to wait for Congress to approve a bigger budget for the ITA, you can identify overseas business opportunities today with The Datamyne’s commercial intelligence: contact us to learn more.
The Obama administration’s National Export Initiative (NEI) aims to double U.S. exports over the next five years by expanding government promotion efforts. The ultimate goal is job creation. As the Economic Report of the President concludes: “If consumption and construction are not the drivers of growth going forward in the way they were in the early 2000s, two components of private demand are left to fill the gap: business investment excluding structures and net exports.” In 2008, exports represented the work of roughly 10 million American workers.
The NEI calls for an additional $132 million for the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA), and the Department of Agriculture to educate farmers and businesses about opportunities overseas and directly connect them with new customers. The NEI also seeks improved access to credit, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses, and increased government focus on knocking down barriers that keep U.S. companies from foreign markets. (Read more details here.)
Of course, you don’t have to wait for Congress to approve a bigger budget for the ITA, you can identify overseas business opportunities today with The Datamyne’s commercial intelligence: contact us to learn more.
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