Obama Provides Update on National Export Initiative and Names Members of President's Export Council

Today President Obama provided a progress report on the National Export Initiative (NEI), the President’s goal of doubling exports and supporting several million new jobs over five years. In addition, the President introduced the members of the President's Export Council (PEC), a group of business and labor leaders who will offer advice from outside of the Administration.

The Chair and Co-chair of the PEC are James McNerney, Chairman, President and CEO, the Boeing Company and Ursula Burns CEO, Xerox, who will serve along with 18 other Presidential appointees (full lists below).

Highlights of the NEI progress report (full PDF version here) include:

• Improved advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters: The Department of Commerce has coordinated 18 trade missions with over 160 companies participating in 24 countries.

• Increased access to export financing: Ex-Im has more than doubled its loans to support American exporters from the same period last year, helping to support nearly 110,000 jobs.

• Reinforced efforts to remove barriers to trade: In March, the United States reached an agreement with China to reopen the Chinese market to U.S. pork and pork products. In June, the United States agreed with Russia to reopen the Russian market to U.S. poultry exports. These steps are worth more than $1 billion.

• Enforcement of trade rules:  Last week the WTO ruled that European governments subsidized Airbus’s large civil aircraft.   This ruling is expected to sustain and even restore jobs to American aerospace workers by leveling the playing field for the U.S. aerospace industry. 

• International promotion of policies leading to strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth: These last 18 months have been the most effective period of international economic cooperation in generations with global growth replacing economic contraction.

The 18 additional members of the President's Export Council named today are:

• Mary Vermeer Andringa - President and Chief Executive Officer of Vermeer Corporation.

• Stephanie A. Burns - Chairman, President and CEO of Dow Corning Corporation. 

• Scott Davis - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UPS.

• Richard L. Friedman - President and Chief Executive Officer of Carpenter & Company, Inc.

• Gene Hale  - President and Founder of G&C Equipment Corporation. 

• C. Robert Henrikson - Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MetLife, Inc. 

• William Hite - General President of United Association

• Robert A. Iger  -President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company.

• Charles R. Kaye - Co-President of Warburg Pincus.

• Jeff Kindler - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer.

• Andrew N. Liveris - President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Dow Chemical Company

• Robert A. Mandell - Past Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Greater Properties.

• Alan Mulally  - President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company.

• Raul Pedraza - Founder and President of Magno International L.P.

• Ivan Seidenberg - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Verizon.

• Glenn Tilton -  Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of UAL Corporation and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United Air Lines.

• James S. Turley - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ernst & Young  

• Patricia A. Woertz - Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Archer Daniels Midland Company.