Doubling Us Exports

President Obama's National Export Initiative (NEI) is targeted at doubling U.S. exports between 2010 and 2015. We apply USAGE to quantify what the NEI would need to do to foreign import-demand curves and domestic export-supply curves to achieve this target. USAGE is a dynamic economy-wide model of the U.S. incorporating recession-relevant factor market specifications including excess capacity and wage/labor-demand elasticities that vary with the level of employment. In our central simulation, export-promotion policies compatible with the President's target reduce the cost of the current recession from about 70 million 1-year jobs for the period 2008-2020 to 45 million jobs.

Exporting is good for American business, American workers and American jobs. That is why President Obama set the goal of doubling U.S. exports in five years in his State of the Union address in January 2010, as well as why the Obama Administration is committed to working with U.S. companies to help American-made goods and services succeed in the global market. The National Export Initiative (NEI) is a key component of the President's plan to help the United States transition from the legacy of the most severe financial and economic crisis in generations to a sustained recovery. At a time when Americans are saving more and consuming less, exports can help to create the jobs needed to bring unemployment down and help to assure a strong and durable recovery. This book lays out the comprehensive plan the Export Promotion Cabinet has developed to help the U.S. double its exports.

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year: “Tells the history of American trade policy . . . [A] grand narrative [that] also debunks trade-policy myths.” —Economist Should the United States be open to commerce with other countries, or should it protect domestic industries from foreign competition? This question has been the source of bitter political conflict throughout American history. Such conflict was inevitable, James Madison argued in the Federalist Papers, because trade policy involves clashing economic interests. The struggle between the winners and losers from trade has always been fierce because dollars and jobs are at stake: depending on what policy is chosen, some industries, farmers, and workers will prosper, while others will suffer. Douglas A. Irwin’s Clashing over Commerce is the most authoritative and comprehensive history of US trade policy to date, offering a clear picture of the various economic and political forces that have shaped it. From the start, trade policy divided the nation—first when Thomas Jefferson declared an embargo on all foreign trade and then when South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union over excessive taxes on imports. The Civil War saw a shift toward protectionism, which then came under constant political attack. Then, controversy over the Smoot-Hawley tariff during the Great Depression led to a policy shift toward freer trade, involving trade agreements that eventually produced the World Trade Organization. Irwin makes sense of this turbulent history by showing how different economic interests tend to be grouped geographically, meaning that every proposed policy change found ready champions and opponents in Congress. Deeply researched and rich with insight and detail, Clashing over Commerce provides valuable and enduring insights into US trade policy past and present. “Combines scholarly analysis with a historian’s eye for trends and colorful details . . . readable and illuminating, for the trade expert and for all Americans wanting a deeper understanding of America’s evolving role in the global economy.” —National Review “Magisterial.” —Foreign Affairs

From American master Ward Just, returning to his trademark territory of "Forgetfulness "and "The Weather in Berlin," an evocative portrait of diplomacy and desire set against the backdrop of America's first lost war

Doubling U.S. exports : are U.S. sea ports ready for the challenge? : hearing before the Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness of the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, second session, April 29, 2010.

Doubling U.S. exports: are U.S. sea ports ready for the challenge?: hearing before the Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness of the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, second session, April 29, 2010.