One Year Later: Reflecting on a New Chapter in U.S.-Cuba Relations
Blog post by Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Commerce

On December 17, 2014, President Obama made the historic announcement that the United States would no longer be held captive by the past and would instead move toward normalizing relations with the island of Cuba. This shift in policy was rooted in a fundamental desire to improve the lives of people in both our nations. We want to help the Cuban people connect to the global economy and enjoy a higher standard of living, while also giving the people of the United States an opportunity to learn about a country that is only 90 miles off our shores.

U.S.– Mexico Relationship: One of Great Importance
Blog post by Stefan M. Selig, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade

Having traveled to Mexico twice in the last two months and four times in the past year, one overarching theme has become clear: the U.S. and Mexico are firmly on a path to becoming a model of a modern commercial partnership. My recent trip to Mexico served to reinforce this message in three important ways.

NFL, Under Armour, GE & National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Announce Five Winners of Head Health Challenge III
The National Football League (NFL), Under Armour, GE, and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced the five winners of Head Health Challenge III, an open innovation competition to support the discovery, design and development of advanced materials that better absorb or dissipate impact.

Director of USPTO Speaks on Women and Innovation at Politico Summit
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Michelle K. Lee issued a call for more women inventors while speaking at the POLITICO – Women Rule Annual Summit in Washington D.C.

Manufacturing Relies on the Strengths of American Communities
Guest blog post by Jason Miller, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council at the White House.

Today, five years after we pulled our economy back from the brink of collapse, the heartbeat of American manufacturing continues to usher new products and new innovations to the marketplace — driving investments in new technologies that can provide the foundation for future U.S. leadership.

Warmer air and sea, declining ice continue to trigger Arctic change

A new NOAA-sponsored report shows that air temperature in 2015 across the Arctic was well above average with temperature anomalies over land more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit above average, the highest since records began in 1900. Increasing air and sea surface temperatures, decreasing sea ice extent and Greenland ice sheet mass, and changing behavior of fish and walrus are among key observations released today in the Arctic Report Card 2015.

NOAA awards more than $8 million for coral reef conservation

NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program is awarding more than $8.4 million in grants and cooperative agreements, this year, to support conservation projects and scientific studies that benefit coral reef management across seven U.S. states and territories, the Caribbean and Micronesia.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Announces Dr. Ellen Hughes-Cromwick as New Chief Economist

Dr. Ellen Hughes-Cromwick will serve as the Department of Commerce’s new Chief Economist. Dr. Hughes-Cromwick is on leave from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, following a distinguished, 18-year career with the Ford Motor Company.

New Commerce Department Data Shows That Minority Entrepreneurship is Growing

The U.S. Department of Commerce released the final results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO), which found that business ownership in our nation is mirroring our increasingly diverse population. Minority-owned firms in the U.S. rose from 5.8 million in 2007 to 8.0 million in 2012, and employed 7.2 million people in 2012. 

Data Releases Next Week

• Gross Domestic Product: Third Quarter of 2015 (BEA)
  
• Advance Report on Durable Goods: November 2015 (Census)
• Personal Income and Outlays: November 2015 (BEA and Census) 
• New Residential Sales: November 2015 (Census)
  
  

Commerce Data in the News

The Associated Press cites the Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners to write that the majority of firms in Los Angeles County — 55 percent — were minority owned in the article, Los Angeles County Has Most Minority-Owned Businesses.

NOAA's report on last month being the warmest global November even recorded, with this past autumn and year to date setting records, was featured in numerous publications, including the Washington Post article, November, autumn and year-to-date were all hottest on record for Earth, NOAA says.

National Public Radio cites Census Bureau statistics on education attainment to write that the high school graduation rate has improved for the fourth straight year — reaching 82 percent in 2014— in the article, U.S. High School Graduation Rate Hits Record High.

USA Today cites Census Bureau economic statistics as part of its methodology in determining that Hawaii and Vermont are the healthiest states, and Louisiana and Mississippi are the unhealthiest, in the article The Most (and Least) Healthiest States.

U.S. Department of Commerce's 15 Most Popular Blogs of 2015
As we close out the year 2015, we also mark two years since the launch of the Commerce Department’s Open for Business Agenda, a bold policy priorities framework for the Department of Commerce, centered on the tools needed for U.S. economic growth. These tools include U.S. trade and investment, innovation, data, environmental intelligence, and operational excellence, and this agenda reflects the Department’s role as the voice of business, as well as the Obama Administration’s keen focus on economic growth and job creation.

Steve Haro Confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker issued the following statement on the confirmation of Steve Haro as Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs.  In that role, Mr. Haro will serve as principal advisor on all matters before Congress, including managing the Department’s relationships with its 19 congressional committees of jurisdiction across the Department’s 12 bureaus.