On February 17, 2012, President Obama issued a Memorandum, in which he laid out his Administration’s plans to streamline the Federal government’s trade, foreign investment, export, and business programs and functions into one cohesive department. Created by Executive Order, the Export Promotion Cabinet (EPC), will coordinate with the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), chaired by the Secretary of Commerce, to develop and implement the National Export Initiative (NEI) and improve conditions that directly affect the private sector’s ability to export goods and help to meet the Obama Administration’s goal of doubling exports over the next 5 years.
With the intention of enhancing and coordinating Federal efforts to facilitate the creation of domestic jobs and ensure sustainable economic growth through trade and foreign investment, President Obama directs the following:
· Program coordination. The TPCC and EPC will develop strategies and initiatives to support the Obama Administration’s trade and investment goals, which will then be coordinated by the Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics. These measures will be reported in the annual National Export Strategy Report of the TPCC.
· Improving Customer Service of Exporters. The Export Promotion Cabinet will support a Steering Committee in its efforts to create BusinessUSA, a common, open, online platform and web service that will enable exporters to seamlessly access information from all government agencies about export-related government programs, resources, and services.
· Trade Budget. The Export Promotion Cabinet will evaluate the allocation for federal resources to assist with domestic trade, encourage foreign investment, and streamline duplicative programs. The EPC will then make recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget on more effective resource allocation, as well as annually present to the Director of the OMB a proposed unified Federal Trade budget consistent with the goals of the Obama Administration.
· Coordination of Office and Staff. The EPC will also take measure to ensure the most effective use of it’s members domestic and foreign offices and the distribution of networks by co-locating offices when appropriate and cross training staff to better serve business customers domestic and abroad.
· Enhance Business Competiveness. The EPC will work with the National Economic Council to develop initiatives to align and enhance programs that enable America businesses to innovate, grow, and increase exports.
For more information regarding the Obama Administration’s directives on foreign investment and trade, contact Glenn Wicks or Ronce Almond at (202) 457-7790.