With ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States, Assistant Secretary Jose W. Fernandez for Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs today underlined that exports are critically important for the health of our economy.
On his remarks at Denver in Colorado, Mr. Fernandez said Colorado is no strangers to exports.
He notes that nearly one-quarter of all manufacturing workers depend on exports for their jobs.
Mr. Fernandez cites that companies like the 2011 recipients of the “Governor’s Award for Excellence in Exporting” StoneAge Inc., Abound Solar, Magnolia Trade, and RNL.
“And this is why two years ago in 2009, President Obama launched the National Export Initiative, with the goal of doubling U.S. exports in five years.”
– Mr. Fernandez
Trade Data Shows Increased Exports
According to Mr. Fernandez, this month’s trade data shows that U.S. exports have continued to increase this year, despite some really difficult economic conditions abroad.
The US is on track to meet the President’s goal. U.S. exports over the past 12 months have reached historic highs, and represent an increase of nearly 36 percent over the levels we started with, he reported.
He says although U.S. exporters are facing headwinds, particularly from what’s going on in Europe, the U.S. is well on pace to again achieve record levels of exports in 2012.
President Obama’s export goal was coupled with a promise that those exports would support as many as two million good, high-paying, export-related jobs here at home, he added.
He indicates that record-breaking levels of U.S. exports have already supported an additional 1.2 million U.S. jobs.
According to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Commerce Department said the United States exported $177.8 billion in goods and services in November, 2011.
Exports have been growing at an annualized rate of 15.9 percent
Exports of goods and services in 2011 totaled $2.089 trillion, which is 32.64 percent above the level of exports in 2009. Over the last twelve months, exports have been growing at an annualized rate of 15.9 percent when compared to 2009, a pace greater than the 15 percent required to double exports by the end of 2014.
Among the major export markets (i.e., markets with at least $6 billion in annual imports of U.S. goods), the countries with the largest annualized increase in U.S. goods purchases, when compared to 2009, occurred in Turkey (45.4 percent), Panama (40.6 percent), Honduras (37.0 percent), Argentina (33.4 percent), Hong Kong (32.9 percent), Peru (30.7 percent), Chile (29.2 percent), Brazil (29.1 percent), South Africa (28.7 percent), and Thailand (27.7 percent).
