May 2015
As you all know, it is an incredibly important few weeks when it comes
to moving the nation’s trade agenda forward. Secretary Pritzker continued to
make the case for powerful new trade agreements that lower tariffs and remove
barriers for U.S. companies so they can more effectively compete around the
world. Today, 96 percent of consumers live outside our borders, and expanded
trade and exports mean more jobs for more Americans. The Secretary traveled to
Miami last week to talk about the importance of these agreements at the
“Discover Global Markets: The Americas” event hosted by the Commerce
Department’s International Trade Administration and the Florida District Export
Council. She announced that she will be travelling to South America in June,
which will be her first as Secretary and demonstrates the Administration’s
focus on the Americas to produce a new wave of trade and commerce.
Last week was also a big week for demonstrating the power of
entrepreneurship. Secretary Penny Pritzker joined President Obama at the White
House to celebrate some of America’s greatest entrepreneurs in announcing the
expansion of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE)
Initiative, with nine new members. Secretary Pritzker chairs the PAGE
Initiative, a group of successful American businesspeople who each have
committed to sharing their energy, experience, and a signature initiative to
help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews concluded his cybersecurity trade
mission to Poland and Romania last Friday. During the mission, Deputy
Secretary Andrews spoke about the importance of uniting the public and private
sector to combat cybersecurity threats at the first Regional Cybersecurity
Summit in Bucharest, Romania. At the American Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw,
Poland, he highlighted the strong U.S.-Poland economic relationship and efforts
to continue to deepen economic, commercial, and trade ties with Poland.
Around Commerce, NOAA welcomed two new Seaports in Louisiana as part of
the Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS); USPTO inducted fourteen of
America’s greatest innovators into the National Inventors Hall of Fame; ITA
announced an upcoming healthcare trade mission to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel;
and several bureaus participated in the White House Summit on Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) for Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.
Hope you had a great weekend; and as always, thank you for keeping
America Open for Business.
-Jim
Commerce
Secretary Penny Pritzker Joins President Obama in Announcing Expanded
Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) Initiative -
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker joined President Obama in celebrating
emerging entrepreneurs from across the United States and around the world.
During the event, the White House announced the addition of nine new members of
the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) initiative,
which Secretary Pritzker chairs.
U.S.
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Celebrates White House Expansion of Highly
Successful Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship Initiative
- U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker recognized emerging entrepreneurs
from across the United States at the PAGE event. PAGE is a group of America’s
most respected business creators who have committed to sharing their time,
energy, ideas, and experience to help develop the next generation of
entrepreneurs around the world.
From
Airbnb to KIND Snacks: The White House Celebrates Entrepreneurs Around the
World - At the Global Entrepreneurship meeting, President Obama welcomed
emerging entrepreneurs from across the country and around the world to the
White House to honor their achievements in their fields of business.
FACT
SHEET: Expanding and Building Upon the Success of the Presidential Ambassadors
for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) Initiative - The Presidential
Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) initiative was created to develop
the next generation of entrepreneurs both at home and abroad. President Obama
launched the initiative last April in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. In
the initiative’s first year, PAGE members utilized their knowledge, ideas, and
talent to inspire and empower the next generation of entrepreneurs both at home
and around the world, by using their voice and platforms to deliver on the
program’s mission.
Remarks
from U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker at the Discover Global Markets: The
Americas Forum - U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced today
that she will travel to Colombia and Brazil next month, making her first trip
to South America since joining the Commerce Department. As part of the
Administration’s strong and sustained engagement throughout the hemisphere, she
will meet with business executives and government leaders in both countries
focusing on ways to deepen bilateral commercial relations.
Secretary
Pritzker Addresses Importance of Supply Chain Innovation and Public-Private
Partnerships at Global Supply Chain Summit 2015 - Secretary Pritzker
delivered the keynote speech at the Global Supply Chain Summit hosted by the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The event gathered business leaders and supply chain
experts to discuss the biggest supply chain challenges facing U.S.
manufacturers, opportunities for supply chain innovation, and efforts to better
unite the public and private sector to enhance supply chain processes.
Remarks
from U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker at the Global Supply Chain Summit
2015 - U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker delivered remarks on the
importance of the public and private sectors working together to improve
America’s supply chains at the Global Supply Chain Summit 2015. During her
remarks, Secretary Pritzker discussed the need for innovation, infrastructure,
and border management to help ensure U.S. businesses can more efficiently and
effectively sell their goods around the world.
The
rise of the micro-multinational, and why it matters to the U.S. economy –
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Devin Wenig, eBay CEO-designee,
share the importance of businesses thinking globally. Any entrepreneur or CEO
faces a world that is more interconnected and more competitive than ever -- and
to succeed in the 21st century, any smart enterprise knows that its customer
base is not just around the corner, but around the world.
Building
a Brighter Future for Coal Communities - Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker
and Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez discuss the dramatic transformation in the
energy economy that is driving fundamental changes in the way Americans power
their homes, offices, factories and communities. They also share how
government, at all levels, can better partner with the private sector and civil
society to help communities diversify their economies.
Deputy
Secretary Bruce Andrews Highlights Economic Partnership with Poland at American
Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw - Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews discussed
America's economic relationship with Poland at the American Chamber of Commerce
in Warsaw, Poland. As one of the United States’ closest partners in fostering
transatlantic security, strengthening economic prosperity, and promoting
democracy, American businesses and government leaders want to continue to
deepen economic and commercial ties with Poland.
Deputy
Secretary Bruce Andrews Celebrates U.S.-Polish Partnership in Aerospace
Industry - Bruce Andrews, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Commerce, joined Polish Deputy Minister of Economy Andrzej Dycha on Friday, May
15 to commemorate a new business deal between Boeing Commercial Airlines and
United Technologies Corporation (UTC) Aerospace Systems that will create more
jobs in Poland.
Deputy
Secretary Bruce Andrews Delivers Keynote Address at Regional Cybersecurity
Summit in Bucharest, Romania - Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews kicked-off
the Regional Cybersecurity Summit in Bucharest, Romania by discussing the
importance of cybersecurity as the keynote speaker. The event, co-hosted by the
Government of Romania and the U.S. Government, gathered businesses and
delegates from the Deputy Secretary’s trade mission and public and private
sector officials from Central and Southeast Europe to discuss cybersecurity
challenges and opportunities in the region.
World
Trade Month: NOAA Welcomes Two New Seaports as Part of the Physical
Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®) - Two southeast Louisiana shipping
hubs, critical to the U.S. economy, are now part of NOAA's Physical
Oceanographic Real Time System (PORTS®). The new multi-sensor systems will
increase navigation safety and allow for increased efficiency on ships
transiting through the Port of Morgan City and Port Fourchon, Louisiana.
Spotlight
on Commerce: MBDA National Deputy Director Albert Shen – In a guest blog
post by Albert Shen, National Deputy Director of the Minority Business
Development Agency (MBDA), Shen highlights Asian Pacific Islander (API)
Heritage Month as a celebration of the culture, traditions, and history of
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
2015
Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees Honored at the Smithsonian - The United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) inducted fourteen of America’s
greatest innovators into the National Inventors Hall of Fame Tuesday night.
Seven living inventors were inducted, and another seven were named
posthumously.
Rural
Communities Rising to the (i6) Challenge – In its new form as part of EDA’s
Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) Program, the 2014 i6 Challenge aimed to make
targeted, strategic investments in a broader range of communities. Of the more
than 240 applications that EDA received for RIS Program funds, rural and other
non-metropolitan communities represented a substantial subset of both the i6
Challenge and the Cluster Grants for Seed Capital Funds competition.
Department
of Commerce Hosts Forum to Better Aid Internet Exporters - Recently,
incoming eBay CEO Devin Wenig, eBay executives, and Department of Commerce
leadership including Secretary Penny Pritzker and Under Secretary Stefan Selig
hosted a first-of-its-kind “Listen and Learn” session with small businesses who
are successfully making international sales online through eBay Marketplace.
For policymakers, the session brought to life the experiences of
technology-enabled exporters, and for participating businesses, it provided
valuable insight into the scope of available U.S. government export resources
and how to effectively use them.
Advance Monthly
Sales for Retail and Food Services – April 2015: U.S. retail and food
services sales for April were $436.8 billion, virtually unchanged from the
previous month.
Manufacturing
and Trade: Inventories and Sales – March 2015: U.S. total business
end-of-month inventories for March 2015 were $1,786.2 billion, up 0.1 from last
month. U.S. total business sales were $1,309.7 billion, up 0.4 from last month.
Quarterly
Retail E-Commerce Sales: 1st Quarter 2015: U.S. retail e-commerce sales for
the first quarter of 2015 was $80.3 billion, an increase of 3.5 percent from
the fourth quarter of 2014. Total retail sales for the first quarter of 2015
were estimated at $1,151.2 billion, a decrease of 1.5 percent from the fourth
quarter of 2014. E-commerce sales in the first quarter of 2015 accounted for
7.0 percent of total sales.
Commerce Data in the News:
The New York Times cites Census Bureau statistics
on age and fertility to write that the share of highly educated women who are childless into their mid-40s has
fallen significantly over the last two decades in the article, More Women Find Room for Babies and
Advanced Degrees.
The Associated Press cites Census Bureau
statistics on governments to write that overall state tax collections are up
2.2 percent, representing the fourth
consecutive annual increase, but 17 states reported declines in tax revenue
with Alaska seeing the biggest drop, $1.7 billion, in the article, Nearly Half of States Expect to Confront
Big Budget Gaps.
Time magazine cites workforce figures from the
Census Bureau to write that adults between the ages of 18-34 now make up one in
three American workers in the article, Millennials Now Largest
Generation in the U.S. Workforce.
Data Releases Next Week:
New Residential Construction: April 2015
Today,
Secretary Pritzker will present 45 American companies from 20 states with the
2015 Presidential “E” Award. The Presidential “E” Award was created by
President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to recognize persons, firms, and
organizations that significantly contribute to increasing U.S. exports.
Secretary
Pritzker will deliver remarks at the Aerospace Industries Association Board of
Governors on Tuesday. AIA is the voice of the U.S. aerospace and defense
industry and represents approximately 380 of the industry’s leading
manufacturers. During her remarks, Secretary Pritzker will discuss the
importance of the aerospace industry to the U.S. economy and American workers.
On
Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will meet with Tunisian
President Beji Caid Essebsi and U.S. business leaders to discuss the status of
reforms in Tunisia at a business roundtable in Washington, DC.
Deputy
Secretary Bruce Andrews will visit ABB Robotics Company in Detroit, MI on
Wednesday. ABB is a leading supplier of industrial robots, modular
manufacturing systems and service.
This
week, Under Secretary for International Trade Stefan Selig will travel to
Beijing, China, to co-lead the U.S. side during the U.S.-China Joint Commission
on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) Mid-Year Review alongside with Deputy U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Holleyman.
On
Wednesday, National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Director and NIST Chief
Cybersecurity Advisor Donna Dodson will give the Visionary Keynote address at
the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC) in Washington, DC. The
educational one-day symposium will feature cybersecurity subject matter experts
from the federal government and academia on panels with topics such as
Information Sharing Across the Cyber Domain; Security: The Cornerstone of
Federal IT; and The Future of Cybersecurity.
On Thursday, the Census Bureau releases its
annual population estimates for every incorporated city and town across the
country, as well as updating estimates of the national, state and county
housing units.
This
Friday, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Jay Williams will travel
to Rutgers University in Newark, NJ to announce the Science & Research Park
grantees under the 2014-2015 Regional Innovation Strategies program.
Secretary Pritzker
addresses importance of supply chain innovation and public-private
partnerships at the Global Supply Chain Summit 2015, hosted by the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce.
Transportation
Alternatives by Census Region — The Census Bureau produced an infographic
using data from the American Housing Survey that shows which regions like to
use the bus or train, or prefer to bike or walk.
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