Administration moving on trade agenda

In his State of the Union address in January, President Obama stated it is the goal of the administration to double American exports within five years. Today, the president is expected to sign an executive order that aims to help start the process of meeting that goal.

The executive order will create an Export Promotion Cabinet comprised of officials from the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, State, Treasury, and other "federal agencies involved in trade [,]" reports Sewell Chan and Javier C. Hernandez in the New York Times online.

In addition to the new cabinet, the Times reports that the president will also name "an advisory committee on international trade, called the President's Export Council [.]" This council will be led by the chief executives of Boeing and Xerox. "The effort is intended, the administration official said, to improve financing for businesses that want to increase exports, enforce existing trade agreements and help create jobs while making American goods more competitive abroad."

Of course, the Times correctly points out that the president's plan is not without detractors, and Congress, which controls trade policy, has a mixed record in moving trade initiatives. While the Central American Free Trade Agreement was passed by Congress during the Bush Administration, other agreements the Bush Administration negotiated, like with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, stalled in Congress.

We shall see if President Obama's trade agenda is received with open arms, or hostility.

To read the New York Times article click here.

Posted: 03/11/10