Roaming Roemer

Secretary Robert M. Gates during his visit to India, January 19, 2010

President Obama announced at his State of the Union address the National Export Initiative, an ambitious and important program aimed at doubling our exports in five years. This could directly add jobs to our domestic economy and employ thousands of Americans in the short run, and help restructure our international paradigm toward new markets like India, where millions of new middle class consumers will emerge in the years ahead. In order to help facilitate this process, the Obama Administration has constructed a framework of supporting policies to build this new global network. First, they increased the budget of the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration by 20 percent to $540 million to promote U.S. businesses abroad. They have asked the Export-Import Bank to ramp up financing for small and medium size businesses to $6 billion from $4 billion. Secondly, the President has directed his Cabinet to do a thorough review of the Export Control Regime, which he believes is harming U.S. economic competitiveness and failing to adequately protect key technologies from falling into the hands of terrorists. Secretary Gates recently delivered a speech on this topic where he stated that “America’s decades old bureaucratically labyrinthine system does not serve our 21st century security needs or our economic interests”. Finally, the Obama Administration has signed a new “Green Partnership” with India to create new opportunities to research and develop technology that will slow down climate change and grow “green” jobs in both countries. This could be the beginning of the next global economy.
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates’ speech