There’s no doubt about it: doing business in America is changing. And businesses with even the most loyal customers are finding that their customers are changing, too. In an increasingly global marketplace, business owners across the U.S. are realizing that their next major customer may no longer come from across town, but beyond our borders.
While news of American exports may not capture the headlines as government shutdowns and political impasses do, the proof is in the thousands of regional businesses who are witnessing its value first hand.
Not only did U.S. exports outpace the growth of imports in 2012 for the first time since 2007, but exports have helped support the creation of more than 6 million private sector jobs during the past 35 months. The world wants what America makes.
So how does this relate to the business climate here in Connecticut? Simple: Our nation’s success with exports has in part been driven by business owners right here in this state.
Take, for example, Connecticut’s own ID Mail Systems, a small business in Middletown launched in 1997 to improve sorting systems for mail delivery. In December, the company signed a $12 million export deal with PostNL — a mail, parcel, and e-commerce company based in the Netherlands. The most immediate effect of this deal will be an increase in jobs — to roughly double the number of current employees, in order to meet higher production demands at ID Mail’s facility.
As we mark the third anniversary of the National Export Initiative — a program launched by President Obama to expand exports and support an increase of 2 million jobs here at home — we do have something to celebrate. U.S. exports grew almost $100 billion from 2011 to 2012, reaching a record $2.2 trillion. And exports supported 1.3 million more jobs between 2009 and 2012 — more than 60 percent toward our goal.
We’re also seeing progress as we mark the first anniversary this month of the United States-Korea Trade Agreement — which opened market access for U.S. businesses to a rapidly growing Asian economy interested in American products.
The latest development in our work to open more channels for trade came in the president’s recent State of the Union speech. The president announced his intent to launch talks with the European Union to forge a transatlantic trade and investment partnership, an agreement that can impact almost half of the world’s economic activity. The United States and the E.U. represent the largest economic relationship in the world. Our joint gross domestic product accounts for 45 percent of global GDP, and includes more than 800 million consumers. A comprehensive trade agreement with our transatlantic partners — along with those with whom we are negotiating in the Asia-Pacific region and an international services trade agreement — will be good for American businesses and American workers, supporting good-paying jobs right here at home.
According to recent data, nearly half of the growth in U.S. exports in 2012 was to countries where we have trade agreements in place. Communities around Middletown and across the country can trust that smart, responsible, job-focused trade agreements are important as they support good-paying jobs for workers here in Connecticut. I look forward to working with my colleagues throughout the Obama Administration to continue to pursue trade policies that help American companies compete in the global marketplace.
Our businesses that create jobs, our workers who are hungry to compete in this global marketplace and this state’s future economic success will all benefit if we do.
Francisco J. Sánchez is the undersecretary of Commerce for international trade. He leads the International Trade Administration, a federal agency with commercial offices across the United States and the globe that promotes U.S. businesses and global competitiveness.
