Commercial Diplomacy in Cuba

Trade and Investment

Secretary Pritzker Inaugurates Regulatory Dialogue in Cuba - During this meeting, representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and State discussed the recent changes to regulations, governing trade, financial transactions, and travel applicable to Cuba. U.S. officials heard from Cuban counterparts on the structure and status of the Cuban economy. This Regulatory Dialogue is aimed at facilitating more effective implementation of new U.S. policies toward Cuba.

Statement by Secretary Pritzker on the Conclusion of Negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership - The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a tough, high-standard, and modern trade agreement that reflects our values on labor, the environment, and human rights. It will strengthen the hand of American workers and ensure that our businesses can compete on a level playing field in some of the world’s most significant markets.

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Highlights Economic Benefits with Trans-Pacific Partnership – “The Commerce reports highlight the increased value of U.S. goods and services exports to TPP markets, the number of U.S. jobs supported by these exports, and the value of foreign investment into the United States from the 11 TPP partners.”

The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Win for American Businesses and Workers – Under Secretary Stefan M. Selig writes that TPP will also remove market ambiguities, producing the transparency and predictability that facilitates global commerce. The agreement will commit partner nations to stronger intellectual property protections as well as clear rulemaking to prevent the rise of burdensome regulations.

Secretary Pritzker Announces 2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit - The Department of Commerce will host the third SelectUSA Investment Summit on June 19-21, 2016 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.

Innovation

Statement from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker on European Court of Justice Safe Harbor Framework Decision - “Since 2000, the Safe Harbor Framework has proven to be critical to protecting privacy on both sides of the Atlantic and to supporting economic growth in the United States and the EU. We are deeply disappointed in today’s decision from the European Court of Justice, which creates significant uncertainty for both U.S. and EU companies and consumers, and puts at risk the thriving transatlantic digital economy.”

The 2020 Census: The Most Innovative Census in our Nation’s History - Census Bureau Director John Thompson writes that the 2020 Census will be the most innovative and automated census in our nation’s history. The 2020 Census operational plan is being released three years earlier than the release for the 2010 plan a decade ago. Sweeping innovations will make it easier than ever for people to respond and will save taxpayers more than $5 billion compared to doing the census the old way with pencil and paper. In 2020, the census is making the leap to the Internet. The smart use of technology and information will make the 2020 Census more efficient and accessible.

Philadelphia High School Training the Next Generation of Manufacturing Innovators - For Manufacturing Day, MBDA National Director Alejandra Y. Castillo attended a ribbon cutting at a new high school in Philadelphia that is opening doors and opportunities for young people to explore careers in today’s manufacturing sector.   

On Manufacturing Day, NIST and NSF Launch New Consortium to Support Advanced Manufacturing - The U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, will lead a consortium to identify new and emerging areas of advanced manufacturing that would benefit from shared public-private investment in research and development, education and training.

Smart Manufacturing Growth Leads to Good Jobs on the Cutting Edge - In a guest blog post by Katharine Morgan, Executive Vice President of ASTM International, she writes about how over the past week, ASTM has supported two events that put a spotlight on how manufacturing is leading to good jobs that require increasingly high levels of skill and training.

Making a Difference: The Potential that Innovations in Manufacturing Offer - Under Secretary for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Willie May writes about his Manufacturing Day experience with STEM students at Charlottesville High School.

Maker Generation: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Career in Advanced Manufacturing - Thomas Hiromoto, a car enthusiast and mechanical engineer at Lockheed Martin, works on the Advanced Manufacturing Technology team, helping research emerging technologies to prepare the factory for future programs as well as assess affordability on current programs.

DMDII Invites Over 50 Students to “Factory of the Future” to Celebrate Manufacturing Day - Haley Stevens of the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), recounts how DMDII, a UI LABS Collaboration, opened its doors to over 50 Chicago Public High School students and their teachers to celebrate national Manufacturing Day on October 2, 2015.

Data

NOAA Online Map Update Offers Improved Coastal Observations and Forecasts - NOAA has upgraded nowCOAST, a GIS-based online map service providing more frequently updated ocean observations along with coastal and marine weather forecasts. The new version also offers a visual point-and-click access to 60 NOAA data products and services.

Women Now at the Head of the Class, Lead Men in College Attainment - The Census Bureau’s Kurt Bauman and Camille Ryan write that in 2014, 29.9 percent of men had a college degree, and for women it was 30.2 percent. This is the first time ever that women’s college attainment was higher than men’s.

How Well Do You Speak English? Assessing the Validity of the American Community Survey English-Ability Question - The Census Bureau’s Erik Vickstrom writes that 60.4 million, or 20.7 percent of the population, spoke a language other than English at home. Of these people, 58.3 percent reported speaking English “very well.”

The Bureau of Economic Analysis wrote that the August 2015 Trade Gap is $48.3 Billion on their blog this week.

August 2015 wholesale inventories were $583.9 billion, up 0.1 percent from the revised July level and up 4.1 percent from August 2014.  Sales were $445.4 billion, down 1.0 percent from the revised July level and down 4.7 percent from August 2014.

The August 2015 international trade deficit increased 15.6 percent from July, to $48.3 billion. Exports decreased 2.0 percent to $185.1 billion and imports rose 1.2 percent to $233.4 billion.

Commerce Data in the News: Time magazine cites Census Bureau statistics on educational attainment in writing that for the first time, women are more likely to have a bachelor’s degree than men. Last year, 29.9 percent of men had a bachelor’s degree, while 30.2 percent of women did in the article, Women Are Now More Likely to Have College Degree Than Men.

The Huffington Post cites Census Bureau statistics on unemployment, income, educational attainment and cost of living to write that Omaha, Neb., and Huntsville, Ala., provide the best salaries and are the cheapest places to live in the article, The Top 10 Best American Cities to Work in Tech in 2015.

USA Today and 24/7 Wall Street analyze Census Bureau statistics on income, educational attainment and school finances to write that Scarsdale Union Free School District in New York is the richest in the country, where households earn a median of $238,478 and the district spends $25,831 per pupil — and San Perlita Independent School District in Texas is the poorest, with a median household income of just $16,384 — in the article, America’s Richest (and Poorest) School Districts.

The Washington Post investigates what the historic South Carolina floods can — and can’t — tell us about climate change.

The New York Times and Associated Press highlight the Obama Administration designation of two new Marine Sanctuaries.

ABC News and the Associated Press report on the new scientific findings that the major coral bleaching crisis spreads worldwide.

The U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services (August 2015) was highlighted in a recent New York Times article: U.S. Trade Deficit as Exports Fall.

Data Releases Next Week:  Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services: September (Census); Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales: August (Census)

Operational Excellence

MBDA National Director Recognized for Leadership and Commitment to the Hispanic Business Community - Alejandra Y. Castillo, MBDA National Director was one of the five awardees honored at the event.  As the first Latina Director of the Minority Business Development Agency, Director Castillo was recognized for her leadership and commitment to the Hispanic business community.

Spotlight on Commerce - The Spotlight on Commerce series continues with Gabriela Morales-Richards, Business Development Specialist, Minority Business Development Agency and Alejandro Rodriguez, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary.

Environment

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Delivers Remarks on Resolution of Civil Claims Against BP for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Plan to Restore Gulf of Mexico - During her remarks, Secretary Pritzker emphasized the Administration’s unwavering commitment to securing justice for the Gulf communities and spurring economic growth across the Gulf states.

NOAA, Deepwater Horizon Trustees announce draft restoration plans for Gulf of Mexico following 2010 disaster - NOAA and the other Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Trustees released a 15-year comprehensive, integrated environmental ecosystem restoration plans for the Gulf of Mexico in response to the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and spill.

NOAA declares third ever global coral bleaching event – “The coral bleaching and disease, brought on by climate change and coupled with events like the current El Niño, are the largest and most pervasive threats to coral reefs around the world,” said Mark Eakin, NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch coordinator. “As a result, we are losing huge areas of coral across the U.S., as well as internationally.”

Areas in Wisconsin and Maryland identified as possible national marine sanctuaries - At the 2015 Our Ocean Conference in Valparaiso, Chile, President Barack Obama announced that, for the first time since 2000, two new marine areas have been identified by NOAA for possible designation as national marine sanctuaries.

Happy birthday to the man whose scientific integrity laid NOAA’s cornerstone - On October 7th, Coast Survey celebrated the 245th anniversary of the birth of Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, the Swiss immigrant whose plan to survey the U.S. coast was selected as the basis for the federal government’s first scientific foray, and who was to become the first superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey.