Meeting of the President ‘s Export Council
TODAY, the President’s Export Council (PEC) met to discuss export expansion goals and the progress made to implement such measures. The PEC, which consists of industry representatives, government officials, and Members of Congress, serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade. The next meeting of the council will take place on March 12, 2013.
Rebecca Blank, Acting Secretary of Commerce, provided opening remarks in which she discussed her agency’s initiatives to help expand export infrastructure to small and medium-sized businesses. She also noted the President’s recent Executive Order establishing a task force on commercial advocacy. The task force is meant to help coordinate advocacy across the federal government to help “strengthen the playing field” of U.S. companies competing for international contracts.
All of the panel members also expressed support for the Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations agreement, which was approved by the Senate this afternoon by a vote of 92 to 4. The bill lifts trade restrictions in place since the Cold War and strengthens U.S. trade enforcement actions.
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, noted how the Farm Bill pending in Congress contains important trade provisions and that members on both sides of the aisle have been working to reach consensus on the legislation.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack remarked on the progress made on certain trade negotiations as well as issues related to those endeavors. He raised his agency’s concerns over how the diary industry will be impacted under the current Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Vilsack also expressed support for the inclusion of Mexico and Canada in the new TPP negotiations rounds, but noted concerns over the ability of Mexico to comply with new standards after pointing to certain decisions made by Mexico related to trade in the beef and potato industries. Additionally, Vilsack called for immediate passage of the Farm Bill after explaining that his agency’s authority over the export assistance programs will expire by the beginning of next year if legislative action is not taken. He also pointed to the U.S. and European Union (EU) Transatlantic Union negotiations, stating that progress must be made with regard to the EU’s view of biotechnology as it relates to agriculture.
The panel members discussed progress in various issues areas, including global competitiveness and expanding support for export activity among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The members noted how substantial progress has been made in the TPP negotiations and pointed to New Zealand where the 15th round is currently being held with additional negotiators from Mexico and Canada. Members also discussed how fewer than 500,000 SME firms are exporting and called for the need to institutionalize outreach to such businesses. Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), touched on measures her agency is taking to increase small business exporting, including the State Trade and Export Promotion Grant program.
Secretary Blank also commented on progress with the EU regarding intellectual property rights (IPR). She said progress on the issue has also been made with China and that negotiators will meet in Beijing next week for the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade where IPR will be a top agenda item.
Ambassador Ron Kirk emphasized the importance of intellectual property protection and explained how critical it is to the future of the economy. He added that “we are very much losing the broader public and engagement” on the issue and called for enhanced education efforts to inform people of IP protections. On a related note, members also called for more efforts to update the Information Technology Agreement that was signed into law in 1997.
TODAY, the President’s Export Council (PEC) met to discuss export expansion goals and the progress made to implement such measures. The PEC, which consists of industry representatives, government officials, and Members of Congress, serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade. The next meeting of the council will take place on March 12, 2013.
Rebecca Blank, Acting Secretary of Commerce, provided opening remarks in which she discussed her agency’s initiatives to help expand export infrastructure to small and medium-sized businesses. She also noted the President’s recent Executive Order establishing a task force on commercial advocacy. The task force is meant to help coordinate advocacy across the federal government to help “strengthen the playing field” of U.S. companies competing for international contracts.
All of the panel members also expressed support for the Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations agreement, which was approved by the Senate this afternoon by a vote of 92 to 4. The bill lifts trade restrictions in place since the Cold War and strengthens U.S. trade enforcement actions.
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, noted how the Farm Bill pending in Congress contains important trade provisions and that members on both sides of the aisle have been working to reach consensus on the legislation.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack remarked on the progress made on certain trade negotiations as well as issues related to those endeavors. He raised his agency’s concerns over how the diary industry will be impacted under the current Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Vilsack also expressed support for the inclusion of Mexico and Canada in the new TPP negotiations rounds, but noted concerns over the ability of Mexico to comply with new standards after pointing to certain decisions made by Mexico related to trade in the beef and potato industries. Additionally, Vilsack called for immediate passage of the Farm Bill after explaining that his agency’s authority over the export assistance programs will expire by the beginning of next year if legislative action is not taken. He also pointed to the U.S. and European Union (EU) Transatlantic Union negotiations, stating that progress must be made with regard to the EU’s view of biotechnology as it relates to agriculture.
The panel members discussed progress in various issues areas, including global competitiveness and expanding support for export activity among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The members noted how substantial progress has been made in the TPP negotiations and pointed to New Zealand where the 15th round is currently being held with additional negotiators from Mexico and Canada. Members also discussed how fewer than 500,000 SME firms are exporting and called for the need to institutionalize outreach to such businesses. Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), touched on measures her agency is taking to increase small business exporting, including the State Trade and Export Promotion Grant program.
Secretary Blank also commented on progress with the EU regarding intellectual property rights (IPR). She said progress on the issue has also been made with China and that negotiators will meet in Beijing next week for the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade where IPR will be a top agenda item.
Ambassador Ron Kirk emphasized the importance of intellectual property protection and explained how critical it is to the future of the economy. He added that “we are very much losing the broader public and engagement” on the issue and called for enhanced education efforts to inform people of IP protections. On a related note, members also called for more efforts to update the Information Technology Agreement that was signed into law in 1997.