Exports growing nationally

CEDAR RAPIDS - Exports from the United States are on the rise, but not as much as officials originally hoped, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

It was one of two reports released on Tuesday, which looked at the number of jobs supported by exports and the amount of exports in metropolitan areas.

President Barack Obama implemented a National Export Initiative in 2009 with the goal of doubling export opportunities across the country by streamlining the process, such as cutting permit wait times from days to minutes.

But since the start of the initiative, U.S. exports have only grown 50 percent.

Nevertheless, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker is confident in the progress.

'These reports are clear indicators of positive momentum,” she said.

Pritzker said exports have driven nearly one-third of the nation's economic growth since 2009 and supported 11.3 million American jobs - a 20-year high.

Iowa ranks No. 25 in the nation for number of jobs supported by manufactured exports, according to the report, but the data did not adjust for the per capita of each state.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman visited Iowa in early August to speak at Cornell College at a 'Made in Rural America Regional Forum,” which aimed to help businesses learn more about exporting.

During a conference call with reporters, he noted his visit to Kimberly Family Farms in Maxwell, Iowa, as an example of how small- to medium-sized businesses can take advantage of exporting opportunities.

'There's a lot of opportunity,” he said, adding that 98 percent of the country's exports come from small and medium businesses. And yet only 1 percent of small businesses export their products.

Froman and Pritzker emphasized reauthorizing the U.S. Export-Import Bank as an important factor in future export growth.

Pritzker said going forward, the Department of Commerce will work on reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank and promoting National Export Initiative NEXT, which is a new customer-service driven strategy to help businesses with selling products abroad.