Commerce secretary in town to tout Obama export push
Columbus Business First – The nation’s top commerce official joined U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in Central Ohio Monday to promote a federal push to double the nation’s exports, a sector where Ohio ranks as a key player.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke met with Brown, D-Ohio, at Dublin-based Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) to discuss the National Export Initiative that President Barack Obama signed through an executive order this month. The plan calls for doubling American exports in a half-decade, a move that could sustain 2 million jobs. U.S. exports top $1 trillion annually, with Ohio one of the 10 largest exporters, according to 2008 data from the Ohio Department of Development.
Officials are working to route potential exporters to regional assistance offices spread throughout the nation, including one in Columbus.
Locke in a statement said growing the nation’s export economy – already more than 10 percent of the gross domestic product – will prove a key strategy as the nation emerges from its worst recession in decades.
