September 26, 2014
Greetings from Kiev! Secretary Pritzker is in Ukraine today at the request of President Obama, meeting with key government and business leaders. As America's chief commercial diplomat, the Secretary's trip will focus on the challenges facing American companies in Ukraine and will try to help this important country implement the necessary reforms to improve the business climate, attract private capital, expand opportunity, and strengthen the economy, both now and in the future. Her message will be clear: sustainable economic growth is the gateway to long-term political stability for the people of Ukraine, and the United States is here to help.
Later, we will travel to Poland and Turkey with members of the President’s Export Council (PEC). In both countries, we will meet with senior government officials and with American companies seeking greater and deeper access to their markets.
Looking to next week: On Friday, October 3, we will celebrate National Manufacturing Day – an opportunity for over 1,300 manufacturers across the Unites States to open their doors to their communities and demonstrate what is happening with manufacturing. We encourage you to participate – as companies or as citizens.
As always, I look forward to our continued work.
All the best,
Wendy
Secretary Penny Pritzker to Lead High-Level U.S. Business Delegation to Poland and Turkey- Secretary Penny Pritzker will lead a high-level delegation of America’s top CEOs on an economic fact-finding mission next week to Poland and Turkey. Secretary Pritzker and the CEOs, all of whom are members of the President’s Export Council (PEC) will use the trip to identify immediate and long-term opportunities to increase trade and investment between the U.S. and Poland and the U.S. and Turkey, two high-potential, fast-growing markets.
What Manufacturing Really Looks Like Today- Did you know that the manufacturing sector has added more than 700,000 jobs over the last four-and-a-half years and is growing at twice the rate of GDP? The future of American manufacturing is bright and provides many benefits, both in the number of high-quality, good paying job opportunities and the sector’s contribution to the U.S. economy.
Three Takeaways from National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) Day- Last Thursday Secretary Penny Pritzker participated in the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) Day on Capitol Hill event. NNMI Day was an opportunity to showcase the successes of the four pilot institutes in North Carolina, Youngstown, Chicago, and Detroit in the areas of additive, digital, electronics, and modern metals manufacturing.
Securing Intellectual Property Protection Around The World- All inventors deserve to have their inventions protected and promoted through intellectual property law everywhere. That is why the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) international IP focus—both in terms of policymaking and in IP processing—specifically advances us toward a world of global IP promotion and protection.
Supporting Manufacturers on Manufacturing Day and Every Day- Manufacturing is more than just a cornerstone of the U.S. economy; it’s a cornerstone of modern life. Manufacturing is also a major source of U.S. exports, and the International Trade Administration estimates that one in four U.S. manufacturing jobs is supported by exports. That’s huge for our economy and we’ll celebrate the industry on Manufacturing Day on October 3.
Soaring Energy Demand Means Opportunities for U.S. Companies in Latin America- More Latin Americans than ever are now members of the middle class and sustained economic growth in the region has led to increased demand for energy. As part of the federal government’s Look South initiative, the International Trade Administration has published a series of best prospect sector reports for our 11 Free Trade Agreement partners in Latin America.
Lt. Smith shows us the beauty of Gambell Alaska- This summer; the Bering Sea Alliance hosted a private-public summit in Gambell, Alaska, to discuss Arctic resource development and infrastructure. Lt. Tim Smith, NOAA Coast Survey’s regional manager for Alaska, updated the participants on the status of Arctic nautical charts and described NOAA’s Arctic Nautical Charting Plan. He also outlined the preliminary 2015 survey plans to acquire hydrographic data around Point Hope, Point Barrow, Port Clarence, and Kotzebue Sound, as NOAA strives to ensure the navigational safety of the increasing ship traffic through Arctic waters.
Minority Businesses Keep the “Made in America” Brand Strong- This year, the Minority Business Development Agency recognized two businesses for outstanding manufacturing impact and achieving significant success in employing new and innovative techniques that led to a significant increase in market share, job growth and customer satisfaction.
Under Secretary Doms wrote about his trip to the Data Innovation Summit: Taking Advantage of Boston’s Big Data Movement
The Bureau of Economic Analysis wrote that value of both U.S. assets and U.S. liabilities increased in second quarter 2014 on their blog this week
Sales of new single family houses in August 2014 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000. This is 18.0 percent above the revised July 2014 estimate of 427,000 and is 33.0 percent above the August 2013 estimate of 379,000.
New orders for manufactured durable goods in August 2014 decreased 18.2 percent, to $245.4 billion. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.7 percent. Overall shipments decreased 1.5 percent, while capital goods shipments rose 0.3 percent. Unfilled orders rose 0.6 percent, and inventories increased 0.4 percent in August 2014.
Commerce Data in the News: The Washington Post cites Census Bureau marriage and fertility statistics in the article, Happy ‘Unmarried and Single Americans Week’ to the 105 Million Single People in America.
U.S. News and World Report cites school enrollment as well as age, race and ethnicity statistics from the Census Bureau in writing that the “traditional” college student — young, white, male, wealthy — is a thing of the past in the article, College of Tomorrow: The Changing Demographics of the Student Body.
Bloomberg News cites Census Bureau statistics on school enrollment to write that the number of students in U.S. colleges and universities declined for the second straight year as registrations in two-year colleges tumbled in the article, Enrollment in U.S. Colleges Declines for a Second Year.
The USPTO’s data is highlighted in a recent Washington Post article: Meet the most innovative companies in America
Data Releases Next Week: Personal Income: August (BEA); Construction Put in Place: August (Census); Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: August; International Trade: August (Census and BEA); Final U.S. Imports for Consumption of Steel Products: August (Census)
Today, Secretary Pritzker is in Ukraine, to meet with some of the country’s senior government officials and with American companies currently working in the market. Her trip, which was announced last week by President Obama during his meeting with Ukrainian President Porshenko, will focus on learning about the particular challenges facing American companies in the country and on helping Ukraine implement the reforms necessary to improve their business climate, attract private capital, expand opportunity, and strengthen the economy, now and in the future.
On Saturday, Secretary Pritzker will travel to Warsaw, Poland, with members of the President’s Export Council (PEC) to meet with Polish government officials; facilitate U.S. business engagement with their respective government; and strengthen our bilateral commercial relationship with Poland. Later in the week she will travel to Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey for additional government meetings as part of the PEC trip.
On Monday, Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade Ken Hyatt will inaugurate the Global Center of the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC), along with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, in New Orleans, LA. WEFTEC is the largest environmental industry event in North America and the largest annual water exhibition in the world, with over 900 exhibitors and 18,000 attendees.
Starting on Tuesday, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Mark Doms will present on a panel with Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erica Groshen and moderated by President and Founder of Haver Analytics, Maurine Haver. During the panel session, Doms and Groshen will discuss the data transformation in the federal government. Doms will also meet with data users, technologists, and finance experts in Chicago for smaller roundtable discussions regarding Commerce data.
On Tuesday, USPTO will host a First Inventor to File (FITF) Roadshow event in Dallas, TX. The public meeting will serve as an opportunity for USPTO subject matter experts and stakeholders to discuss the FITF provisions and updates since its implementation in March 2013.
Also on Tuesday, MBDA National Director Alejandra Castillo will participate in the Federal Triangle Partnership: National Hispanic Heritage Month Observance in Washington D.C. The Federal Triangle Partnership (FTP) consisting of the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, invited Alejandra to serve as the keynote speaker to this event.
On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Jay Williams will deliver the keynote address at the “Come Together: An Evening with the eCenter@LindenPointe Community” in Hermitage, PA, to promote the entrepreneurial outcomes of the eCenter@LindenPointe, an EDA investment site. The mission of the eCenter is to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the Oh-Penn Interstate region and beyond.
Also on Wednesday, MBDA National Director Alejandro Castillo will participate in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Economic Justice for the Latino Community Summit in Washington, DC. Alejandra has been asked to participate as a panelist and address MBDA's efforts in the Latino community. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Economic Justice for the Latino Community Summit will address the growing income inequality gap affecting the Latino workforce.
Additionally on Wednesday, BIS Under Secretary Eric L. Hirschhorn will give the keynote address at the American Bar Association’s Conference on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Economic Sanctions, and Export Controls in Washington, D.C. He will provide an overview of export control reform and update participants on new regulatory developments.
On Friday, Secretary Pritzker will speak at the National Association of Manufacturers Board meeting in Washington, DC. She will highlight the importance of manufacturing and kick-off National Manufacturing Day activities.
Also on Friday, Secretary Pritzker will highlight the importance of strengthening manufacturing and workforce training at a National Manufacturing Day event in Baltimore, MD.
Secretary Pritzker thanked and posed for a photo with the Commercial Service team in Kyiv, Ukraine on September 26, 2014.
Secretary Pritzker met with young entrepreneurs, who are the future of a stronger Ukrainian economy, during her commercial diplomacy trip to Kyiv, Ukraine.
Higher Education — A Census Bureau graphic shows the number of students enrolled in different levels of college. College enrollment declined by 463,000 between 2012 and 2013, marking the second year in a row that a drop of this magnitude has occurred.
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