July 31, 2015
This week, Secretary Penny Pritzker wrapped up her trip
to Brussels, Belgium as well as Nairobi, Kenya, where she attended the Global
Entrepreneurship Summit. During her travels, Secretary Pritzker discussed the
digital economy and digital single market with the European Union, made strides
introducing entrepreneurship to young innovators with President Obama and PAGE
members, and met with Commercial Service teams to thank them for promoting
American goods and services around the world. Upon her return, the
Secretary continued to discuss the importance of the Export-Import Bank and
trade to our economy, and also traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to
engage with tribal leaders, native youth, and native-owned businesses on ways
to provide better resources and opportunities.
Around Commerce, ITA played a critical role in a historic
agreement between nearly 50 countries to eliminate tariffs on information and
communication technologies; NIST launched their first app challenge to improve
data access; and NOAA is better preparing our coasts to cope with natural disasters.
Have a wonderful weekend! Let’s continue to keep America
Open for Business.
Best wishes,
Jim
U.S. Secretary
of Commerce Penny Pritzker Joins President Obama in Kenya for Global
Entrepreneurship Summit – As the Administration’s point person on
entrepreneurship, Secretary Pritzker highlighted the work that the Department
of Commerce does to address and support innovation at the 2015 GES.
Secretary
Pritzker Talks Digital Economy and Innovation with EU - Last
week, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker traveled to Brussels, where she
engaged European Union leaders in discussions on the transatlantic digital
economy.
Supporting
Vibrant Native American Communities - Today, the Secretary spent time
meeting with Native American youth and tribal leaders in the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan to highlight the key services offered by our Department in Indian
Country.
NIST to Host
First App Challenge to Improve Data Access - NIST is offering prizes totaling
$45,000 to software developers who create the most innovative and impactful apps
using NIST reference data.
Innovative
Research Helps Emergency Responders Better Communicate While Indoors - The
First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), an independent entity within the
Commerce Department’s NTIA, has made in-building communications a priority to examine
and improve.
Nearly
50 Countries Reach Historic Agreement to Eliminate Tariffs on Information and
Communication Technologies -
Representatives from 47 countries reached the first tariff-cutting
agreement at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 18 years.
U.S.
Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Capitalize on Emerging Markets in
Africa – At GES, as
the Obama administration’s lead for entrepreneurship, Secretary Pritzker
participated in a pre-summit youth and women session, which brought together
150 entrepreneurs from around the world to discuss specific challenges,
interact with industry experts, and pitch their business ideas to companies.
Five
Drivers of Export Opportunity: U.S. Building Products and Green Building - The vibrant global trend
seeking a greener built environment will help create some $46 billion in export
opportunity for a group of U.S. building product manufacturers by 2017,
according to new ITA Top Markets reports.
25th
Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act - On the 25th Anniversary
of the ADA, it is important to re-dedicate ourselves to providing equality of
opportunity and to eradicating myths, fears, and stereotypes about people with
disabilities.
Resilience
Starts with Being Ready: Better Preparing Our Coasts to Cope with Environmental
Disasters - NOAA’s
Office of Response and Restoration discusses the importance of training and
education for preparing local responders to respond effectively to coastal
disasters, from oil spills caused by hurricanes to severe influxes of marine
debris due to flooding.
What
does the age of the survey mean for nautical charts? – This article includes an overview of
nautical charts done by NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey and provides a brief
historical sketch of survey technologies and graphics.
A Tale of Two
Coasts - The
coasts are a desirable place to live, a source of jobs, and a valuable resource
for recreation, but in reality there are numerous definitions of a “coast” and
each serves a different purpose.
How a Charity
is Using Baldrige to Serve the Blind – The Blind Foundation for India has
served over 15 million blind people in India and raised over $4 million by
using the Baldrige Excellence Framework as a way to manage its work and ensure
optimum effectiveness.
Not
Schrödinger’s Cat: NIST PET Phantoms Bring New Accuracy to Medical Scans -
Teaming with a medical equipment company, researchers at NIST have demonstrated
the first calibration system for positron emission tomography (PET) scanners
directly tied to national measurement standards.
Understanding
Federal Spectrum Use - NTIA discusses how much spectrum federal agencies use
and whether or not it is being used efficiently, in relation to recent spectrum
challenges and debates.
The Economic and Statistics Administration wrote about New
Advance Report on International Trade on their blog this week.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis wrote about GDP
Increases in Second Quarter and Industry
in Focus: Transportation and Warehousing on their blog this week.
Advance Report on Durable Goods – Manufacturers’
Shipments, Inventories and Orders – June 2015: New orders for
manufactured durable goods in June increased $7.7 billion or 3.4 percent to
$235.3 billion.
Housing Vacancies and Homeownership – 2nd Quarter 2015: The
homeownership rate in the second quarter 2015 was 63.4 percent, down 1.3
percentage points from the second quarter 2014 rate of 64.7 percent. The rental
vacancy rate in the second quarter 2015 was 6.8 percent, down 0.7 percentage
points from the second quarter 2014 rate of 7.5 percent.
Advance Report on International Trade in Goods – June
2015: The advance
international trade balance in goods was -$62.3 billion in June 2015.
Advance exports of goods were $126.6 billion and advance imports of goods were
$188.8 billion.
Commerce Data in the News: U.S. News and World Report cites Census Bureau statistics on
domestic mobility in writing that only about 2 percent of the 36 million
Americans who move in a year – or fewer than 1 million people – say they’re
relocating because of retirement in the article, 6
Roads to Relocating in Retirement.
Fox News cites Census Bureau statistics on
household income, housing costs and unemployment in reporting that
Alpharetta, Ga.; Redmond, Wash.; and Wilmington, Del., are some of the best
places for entrepreneurs in the article, Top
10 Small Cities Where Business is Thriving.
Time magazine cites statistics from the Census Bureau’s
Current Population Survey and the Housing Vacancy Survey to write that the
rental vacancy rate hit a 30-year low of 6.8 percent this quarter in the
article, Why
Your Rent Increases are About to Get Steeper.
The L.A. Times
included BEA’s
Gross Domestic Product data in this
recent article, GDP
grew at 2.3% rate in 2nd quarter; 1st-quarter growth
revised upward.
The Wall Street
Journal highlighted BEA’s data on
second quarter GDP in their article, The
Six-Year Slough.
Data Releases Next Week: Personal Income and Outlays: June (BEA);
Construction Spending: June (Census); Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories,
and Orders: June (Census); U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: June
(BEA and Census)
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny
Pritzker will participate in a roundtable with Congressman Mike Quigley hosted
by the Chicago Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, Illinois. The roundtable will
gather 15 business leaders to discuss the Administration’s trade agenda and its
benefits to Chicago businesses in particular.
Also on Monday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Penny Pritzker will deliver remarks at the Department of Commerce’s first Open
for Innovation event, held on Monday, August 3. The event will bring together
eight large companies facing immediate business challenges with more than 50
startups that have the potential to offer solutions.
Additionally
on Monday, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Jay Williams will visit
Buffalo, New York with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to meet with local
economic development and business representatives and make an EDA grant
announcement. Earlier in the day, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development
Matt Erskine will join Senator Gillibrand in Ithaca where they will meet with
local leaders.
On Tuesday, MBDA National Director
Alejandra Y. Castillo and National Deputy Director Albert K. Shen will attend
the White House Demo Day in Washington, DC. The first-ever White House Demo Day
will bring together entrepreneurs from all walks of life, from all across the
country.
On
Wednesday, from August 5-6, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Jay
Williams will give keynote remarks on the administration’s efforts to support
auto communities and American manufacturing and innovation at the Automotive
Communities Partnership meeting Center for Automotive Research 2015 Management
Briefing Seminar in Traverse City, MI.
Also on Wednesday, BusinessUSA Executive Director, Dennis
Alvord, will participate on a panel entitled, “How Data is Driving Customer
Experience Strategy” at the Government Executive and Nextgov Customer
Experience Summit 2015 event, “Measuring Success in Customer Experience” at the
Newseum in Washington D.C.
On Friday, the Census Bureau’s Thom File will appear on
C-SPAN’s “America
by the Numbers” segment to discuss “Congressional Elections and the
American Electorate.”
Secretary Pritzker and four PAGE
ambassadors attended the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
Watch Secretary
Pritzker’s CNBC Power Lunch interview on the White House lawn on why she
strongly supports reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.
Services
for Those with Disabilities
- The Census Bureau posted a graphic to coincide with the 25th anniversary of
the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act that showed the number of
business establishments by industry that serve people with disabilities. Citing
2013 County Business Patterns statistics, for example, there are 7,727
establishments that have vocational rehabilitation services.
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