Obama Refocuses On Exports, Names Advisory Council

President Barack Obama set the ambitious goal in his February State-of-the-Union speech a doubling of U.S. exports over five years.

In a sign that he still has working towards significantly boosting exports somewhere high on his agenda, the president on Wednesday named his members to the President's Export Council, an advisory group created by President Richard Nixon in 1973.

An excerpt from Obama's statement at a White House event where he introduced his council members:

But this is about more than what government can do; this is about what our businesses can do.  And that’s why we are re-launching the President’s Export Council, a group that includes business and labor leaders who will offer their unfiltered advice and expertise on how best to promote exports.  We’ve also included congressional leaders and senior representatives of my administration.

Obama selected Boeing CEO Jim McNerney to chair the council and Ursula Burns, Xerox CEO, as vice chair.

Other members included CEOs of Dow Corning, Disney, Archer-Daniels-Midland and Ford. A White House statement provides all the names and many relevant details.

Whether Obama can actually usher into place the right conditions for a doubling of U.S. exports of goods and services is an open question. The White House said the economy is on track, with U.S. exports 17 percent higher than last year.

There's general agreement among economists, however, that dramatically boosting U.S. exports would be a good thing. Exports in 2009 were an estimated $1.05 trillion compared with an estimated gross domestic product of $14.26 trillion.

 

Howard F. Rosen, a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, testified to a Senate subcommittee in December, on what he called the "export imperative" for the U.S. An excerpt from his written testimony:

The only possible option for reducing our increasing dependence on foreign capital, while maintaining—or even improving—our standard of living is to expand exports.

In order to increase exports, we must start producing more than we consume.

The only possible option for reducing our increasing dependence on foreign capital, while maintaining—or even improving—our standard of living is to expand exports.In order to increase exports, we must start producing more than we consume.

The testimony is well worth reading in its entirety for anyone who wants a better understanding of the importance in the U.S. driving its exports to far higher levels.

One surprise for me was the fact that not all the U.S. exports need be high-value added products like aircraft. Rosen writes that the U.S. could greatly benefit from exporting much more basic products, including cereal. Yes, lowly cereal, which he says is one of the U.S. most competitive products.

Meanwhile, it's worth looking back at some of the immediate reaction to the president's export goal after he announced it last February. It ranged from "it's doable" to "it's fantasy."