The National Export Initiative “Complexity”

During his State of the Union address in January, 2010, President Obama set a goal of doubling exports by 2015, an increase expected to support two million additional jobs in the U.S.

As a result, pursuant to an Executive Order, the U.S. launched the National Export Initiative (NEI) - a single comprehensive strategy to promote American exports, open new markets and level the playing field for American workers. Unrelated to the ECR Initiative, in September, 2010 the NEI published its “Plan for Doubling U.S. Exports in Five Years.”

The Report sets out the overall economic context for the NEI, describes export-boosting activities already in place at the time and summarizes the recommendations of the NEI designed to meet its eight priorities. Four general themes apply to all eight priority areas.

But the most important in connection with this export control series include strengthening interagency information-sharing and coordination and unifying the goals for Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee member agencies to maximize cooperation and coordination between agencies, both of which are sadly missing from the current export control system.

One comment by the Irvine Chamber of Commerce was telling. “We find that the biggest barrier to getting more companies involved with exporting is a fear of the complexity of the process. The export process admittedly has many more unknowns and requires greater strategic planning but we have found that training (one-on-one or workshops) overcomes the concerns.”

Therefore, the Plan recommends more effective handling of prospective exporters by the Department of Commerce’s Trade Information center as well as enhanced training, training resources and counseling.

You can read the full report at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/nei_report_9-16-10_full.pdf.

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