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Cabinet Exit Memo by Secretary Penny Pritzker

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Introduction

The Department of Commerce (the Department) sits at the intersection of all business and economic issues, both domestically and abroad. A single mission unites our 12 bureaus and 46,000 employees: to help create the conditions for economic growth, job creation, and opportunity across the United States.

The Department helps American companies prosper in the global economy. We issue patents and trademarks, as well as licenses to sell sensitive technologies abroad. We collect and provide data on demographics, the economy, and the weather, as well as a common language businesses can use to manage cybersecurity risk. We invest in advanced manufacturing clusters and facilitate foreign investment in the United States. We link minority-owned businesses with the capital, contracts, and markets they need to grow, and we connect communities across America through expanded broadband access.

Throughout President Obama’s Administration, we took strides to make our team more outcome-driven and responsive and provide important commercial perspectives in policy discussions. Critical to our success has been our work to build a stronger bridge to the business community, include the private sector in our policymaking process, and serve as a key member of the President’s economic cabinet.

Record of Progress

The Department of Commerce has played an integral role in America’s economic recovery. While government alone cannot create companies or jobs, it can help create the conditions for the private sector to grow and prosper. Our record of progress is focused on five areas: trade and investment, innovation, data, environment, and operational excellence.

Trade & Investment: Opening Global Markets and Encouraging Investment in the United States

Our Department has supported the President’s economic growth agenda by aggressively enforcing trade laws, increasing foreign direct investment, negotiating trade deals that create a level playing field for American workers, and using the power of America's business leaders to help shape policy in markets around the world. Our team has worked to steadily open new markets to U.S. goods and services, reduce trade barriers facing U.S. firms, and help our companies navigate challenging markets abroad.

Commercial Diplomacy
Commercial diplomacy is based on a simple premise: America’s commercial power and influence is unmatched. In an increasingly complex world, that power must be more effectively harnessed as a force alongside our more traditional foreign policy tools. Our allies and trading partners want American investment and the promise of private sector-led growth. And they know American companies can bring capital that creates jobs and economic opportunities. This provides our business leaders with an influential voice in foreign capitals, which can be used to promote policies consistent with our common strategic goals. This in turn helps level the playing field for American companies to sell more American products abroad while creating well-paying jobs here at home. As such, when our objectives have aligned, we have worked with the private sector as our policy partner. The Commerce Department has invested heavily in building a commercial diplomacy agenda, and the next Administration should continue developing more effective and focused commercial diplomacy strategies to support the President’s foreign policy priorities.

Enforcing Our Trade Laws in Record Numbers
The viability of U.S. manufacturers and the livelihoods of American workers has been threatened by ill-advised policies of certain foreign governments that subsidize the costs of production and artificially decrease the price of their exports at the expense of their trading partners. This Administration has taken substantial steps to confront this problem, and the Department has played a leading role. Antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations have reached historic highs. Specifically, the Department of Commerce and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are currently enforcing 350 AD/CVD orders that address dumped and/or unfairly subsidized imports. To meet this challenge of increased dumping, we expanded our capacities by adding more than three dozen positions in an effort to more quickly and effectively use our trade remedies. We also secured legislative changes that strengthen the effectiveness of the AD/CVD remedy, including provisions that improve Commerce’s ability to deal with foreign producers that do not cooperate in AD/CVD proceedings and enhance the ability of Customs and Border Protection to combat evasion of anti-dumping and countervailing duties.

China
The scope and nature of our interactions with the Chinese government has evolved dramatically. We have worked to make the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) a continuous process in tandem with the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and have made it a more dynamic and productive dialogue. While we have continued to use the JCCT to push the Chinese to address core commercial policy challenges – including excess capacity in steel and other sectors, the persistent theft of intellectual property and trade secrets, and an increasingly hostile and protectionist approach to digital policy challenges – we also have attempted to use it and our other engagements with senior officials to focus energy on deepening our understanding of their strategic economic priorities and looking for opportunities for greater collaboration. In addition, we are working to end China’s dangerous and market-distorting approach to developing an indigenous semiconductor industry and have continued to prioritize and invest heavily in trade enforcement.

Mexico
Recognizing that the U.S. government had underinvested in the U.S.-Mexico economic relationship, the Department prioritized building stronger bilateral commercial ties with one of our most important economic partners, and we have achieved enormous success. Working closely with Vice President Biden, the Department has led the High Level Economic Dialogue since its 2013 launch. This mechanism has enabled our governments to more effectively collaborate on commercial priorities like developing modern border infrastructure that promote growth and job creation. We have made considerable progress on border infrastructure, energy, economic and workforce development, travel and tourism, and innovation and entrepreneurship.

India
The Department has taken the lead on elevating our commercial ties with India through the creation of the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. This mechanism will endure as a platform for commercial and strategic engagement on a wide range of issues. We have made great progress in key areas affecting our economic relationship, including ease of doing business, smart cities and infrastructure development, innovation and entrepreneurship, and standards harmonization.

Africa
One major goal of the Administration has been to transform the U.S.-Africa relationship from one based on aid to one based on trade. Consistent with these goals, the Department created and launched the President’s Doing Business in Africa initiative, which has allowed us to double our presence in African countries by opening new offices throughout the continent facilitating greater investment and supporting jobs here at home.

In partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Department also created the U.S.-Africa Business Forums, which took place in 2014 and 2016. The Forums brought together hundreds of American and African CEOs, and nearly every African head of state to facilitate U.S. private sector engagement in Africa, which helped generate $23.1 billion in investment. The first U.S.-Africa Business Forum also led to the formation of the President's Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA), which I chair.

Cuba
The Department has taken a lead role to fundamentally change U.S. policy toward Cuba. We launched the U.S.-Cuba Regulatory Dialogue and, in coordination with the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Department has published six sets of regulatory changes aimed at empowering the Cuban people through increased economic engagement. From January 2015 through September 2016, we issued 738 licenses for proposed exports and re-exports to Cuba valued at $9.4 billion. In addition, we worked with the private sector to identify the most effective ways to increase economic engagement and ultimately benefit the Cuban people.

SelectUSA
In 2011, the Department launched SelectUSA, the first federal initiative focused on creating world-class investment promotions to attract foreign direct investment to the United States. To date, this successful effort has facilitated $23 billion in foreign direct investment creating and/or retaining tens of thousands of jobs across the country. The 2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit alone brought together 2,500 participants representing 70 international markets. SelectUSA has also established a presence at the U.S. embassies in each of the 30 largest markets for U.S. investment globally.

Export Control Reform
The Department has led a comprehensive reform of the export control system. Prior to this effort, the government’s controls on defense items essentially were one-size-fits-all regardless of technological sensitivity, end use, or end user. Now, tens of thousands of less-sensitive defense items are subject to more nuanced and flexible regulations. The end result has been stronger military interoperability with our allies; reduced incentives for those allies’ products to avoid U.S. content; government’s resources focused on transactions of greatest concern; and improved regulatory reliability and predictability.

National Travel and Tourism Strategy
In partnership with the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce co-authored the National Travel and Tourism Strategy, which sets an ambitious goal to welcome 100 million annual international visitors by 2021. In 2015, 76 million people visited the United States, up from 67 million before the strategy’s implementation. These visitors spent a record $217 billion on goods and services, supporting 1.1 million U.S. jobs and making travel and tourism our country’s number one services export.

Looking Ahead

Complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership
The completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership is essential to America’s economic strength, to our leadership in the Asia-Pacific region, and to our national security. But trade remains a complicated and highly charged topic for many citizens. To address these challenges, our government needs to reconsider our approach to delivering the benefits of completed trade agreements to our citizens. In addition, the inability of Congress to pass the agreement has left a vacuum that China is already attempting to fill with its own multilateral agreement that will exclude the U.S. and disadvantage our businesses and workers.

Growing Our Footprint at Home and Abroad
The Department’s traditional trade responsibilities include helping American companies resolve specific issues abroad, working with foreign governments to address systemic trade policy challenges, enforcing trade laws, and building stronger ties to cultivate economic opportunities for companies to compete for new customers around the world. Globalization is creating a huge and growing demand by American companies for the Department’s trade services and expertise. To meet this challenge and accomplish these goals, I believe there exists a need to increase the Department’s Foreign Commercial Service and Export Assistance Center footprint as well as our enforcement resources, so that we can keep pace with growing caseloads.

Increase Exports
In addition, we need to open new markets and help U.S. companies grow exports. Rebalancing our economy to sell more globally is necessary because 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States. This will represent an important shift in how our economy does business. We need to open new markets and maintain a level playing field, simultaneous with expanded export counseling and trade finance capabilities. To meet this opportunity, the Department’s Commercial Service should expand to ensure that all American firms in tradeable sectors fully capitalize on the opportunities created by our trade agreements.

Innovation: Supporting Advanced Manufacturing, Skills Training, Entrepreneurship, and a Robust Digital Economy

Between 1948 and 2012, over half the total increase in U.S. productivity growth, a key driver of economic growth, came from innovation and technological advancement. As “America’s Innovation Agency,” the Department of Commerce is responsible for fostering an environment that supports the invention and commercialization of new products and technologies. We are proud to have five Nobel Prize winning scientists on our team who embody our Department’s commitment to innovation.

Advanced Manufacturing

Manufacturing USA
The Department manages and coordinates the Manufacturing USA Network (formerly the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation), an inter-agency initiative to develop and deploy the technologies and workforce of the future in a collaborative public-private partnership. This effort will have launched a network of public-private manufacturing institutes that will enhance America’s competitive advantage in advanced manufacturing by bringing cutting edge technologies from lab to market. Already, the more than $600 million in federal funding invested in the first nine institutes has been matched by more than $1.3 billion in non-federal investment. And more institutes are on the way.

Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership
Commerce is the lead agency for the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership, an initiative that encourages local leaders from the private sector, local government, higher education, and economic development organizations to collectively identify a sector of manufacturing where their community has a comparative advantage and create a strategic plan that addresses every element of competitiveness from workforce and supply chain to infrastructure and trade. Twenty-four communities have been designated for preferred access to federal funding totaling approximately $1.3 billion, and more than 65 other communities received technical assistance and benefited from the strategic planning undertaken as part of the application process.

Skills Training

Skills for Business
The Department plays a critical role in federal workforce development policymaking through our newly created Skills for Business initiative. While our Department does not fund training, advancing 21st century skills is integral to strengthening American competitiveness given the importance of talent development to our economy, especially in key sectors like manufacturing, cybersecurity, and engineering. We have led the effort to assure federal workforce expenditures are job driven, sponsored research on the value of apprenticeships to employers, and strengthened regional workforce development efforts.

Entrepreneurship

Promoting a Robust and Effective Intellectual Property System
The strength and vitality of the U.S. economy depends on effective mechanisms that protect and encourage the development of new ideas. With the passage of the America Invents Act, the Department continues to improve our service to American innovators by improving patent quality, speeding the patent process, and curbing abuse. In the last five years, we opened the first-ever permanent Patent and Trademark regional offices in Detroit, Denver, Silicon Valley, and Dallas, bringing our services closer to our customers. We also launched the Patents for Humanity program to accelerate the use of patented technologies for humanitarian purposes.

Regional Innovation
Through our Regional Innovation Strategies program and the i6 Challenge, the Department awarded $59 million in capacity-building grants to help entrepreneurs in diverse regions of the country move ideas to market, supporting the creation and expansion of research-commercialization centers and early-stage seed-capital funds.

Harnessing Private Sector Expertise to Support Entrepreneurship
The Department is committed to supporting startups at every phase of their business cycle. In 2014, we created the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship Program, which I chair. Through this effort, 20 of the nation’s most recognized and successful entrepreneurs commit to mentoring the next generation of innovators both domestically and abroad. The Department also created and leads the National Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE). Comprised of experts from the public and private sectors, NACIE is responsible for providing executable recommendations on how our innovation and entrepreneurship policies and programs can be most effective.

Moving Technologies from Lab to Market
The Department has played a leading role in the Lab-to-Market initiative, a whole-of-government effort to increase the economic impact of Federally-funded research and development by accelerating and improving the transfer of new technologies from the laboratory to the commercial marketplace. The Department has worked with partners across the federal government to create more open access to federal opportunities and to empower more effective collaborations by streamlining policies and tools that help connect entrepreneurs with federal agencies.

Strengthening our Digital Economy

Cybersecurity
In an economy increasingly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, the Department plays a central role in the federal government’s policymaking focused on securing America’s data networks and systems. In 2014, the Department released the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. Created through unprecedented collaboration between private industry and government, the voluntary Framework consists of standards, guidelines, and practices that promote the protection of critical infrastructure networks. The Framework has become the gold standard for cyber-risk management and has gained widespread acceptance.

In addition, the Department worked closely to support the President’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, and will be taking steps to ensure that the Commission’s recommendations are incorporated into our future actions. We also lead efforts on state-of-the-art identity protection, cybersecurity workforce training, and solving technological challenges by working cooperatively with the private sector.

Protecting a Free and Open Internet: IANA Transition, U.S.-E.U. Privacy Shield, and APEC
An open and free internet is the lifeblood of the global economy that powers commerce and promotes economic opportunity and human rights around the world – deeply-held American values that lead to global stability, security, and well-being. This Administration – and President Obama himself – strongly supported the Federal Communications Commission’s “net neutrality” decision to adopt the strongest rules possible to ensure Internet Service Providers cannot become gatekeepers to the Internet’s content or create paid fast lanes for access to the best services. And for our part, the Department has a number of accomplishments that advance this goal:

On October 1, 2016, the Department transitioned its stewardship role over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions to the non-profit, non-governmental entity, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The internet stakeholder community is now in charge of overseeing the global domain name system as originally intended. This makes for a stronger, more open Internet, which helps ensure no authoritarian government can ever control it.

The Department’s successful completion of the E.U.-U.S. Privacy Shield framework provides U.S.-based companies with a reliable mechanism for data transfers between the European Union and the United States while maintaining rigorous privacy standards. This framework is essential to supporting the more than $260 billion in cross-Atlantic digital services trade occurring annually.

The United States is working to advance the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Cross Border Privacy Rules system, a voluntary but enforceable scheme of mutually recognized data privacy practices for companies doing business in participating APEC economies. By minimizing unnecessary barriers to cross-border data flows resulting from inconsistent privacy regulations in participating APEC economies, the system is intended to facilitate trade while strengthening consumer trust across the Asia Pacific.

Increasing Digital Access: Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP)
The Department built a $4.2 billion grant program from scratch and funded projects that increase access to broadband in unserved and underserved areas. The projects helped create jobs and narrowed the digital divide. So far, BTOP has constructed or upgraded 117,000 miles of broadband network infrastructure, connected 25,787 community anchor institutions, enrolled 671,585 new broadband service subscribers, and has disbursed $3.833 billion in grants.

Digital Economy Board of Advisors
We created the Digital Economy Board of Advisors in 2015. Composed of leading technologists, business leaders, social sector executives, and expert policy makers, the board’s mission is to provide advice to increase domestic prosperity, improve education, and facilitate participation in political and cultural life through the application and expansion of digital technologies.

Digital Attaches
Responding to the changing nature of global trade, in March 2016, the Department launched our Digital Attaches pilot program, placing commercial service officers in six markets abroad to serve as dedicated resources for U.S. companies navigating digital economy hurdles overseas. This past October, we announced an expansion of the program. This initiative will continue to drive policy advocacy on technology issues, ensure linkages between trade policy and trade promotion efforts, and provide front-line assistance for U.S. small and medium enterprises.

Infrastructure and Economic Development

FirstNet
FirstNet was created by Congress to design, build, and operate the first-ever self-sustaining interoperable national public safety broadband network. We have worked closely with FirstNet to help them evolve into a more mature organization, and will maintain rigorous review and oversight processes to ensure FirstNet’s success as it builds out its network.

Strategic Investment in Economic Development
To implement the President’s vision for modernizing support for communities, the Department has taken a leadership role in the integration of federal economic development assistance. This approach has increased the impact of federal support by coordinating the funding streams from multiple agencies and targeting them to communities that have adopted coherent strategies and comprehensive plans. The results can be seen in communities supported by the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership and the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization Initiative.

Looking Ahead

Strengthening the Digital Economy
The federal government is currently not properly organized to face the challenges posed by the 21st century digital economy. Looking forward, there needs to be a government-wide focus to address five critical issues: access, trust and security online, promoting a free and open Internet globally, addressing the challenges and opportunities of emerging technologies, and preparing workers for jobs in the digital economy. As the President’s statutorily designated principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy issues, the Department can and must quickly transform to be the lead agency with respect to the digital economy, just as it has led with other sectors.

Access: Too many U.S. households still do not have broadband access. Filling that need is not currently happening organically through the marketplace. We must develop policies and incentives and integrate experienced technical network talent to encourage investment in infrastructure to connect all Americans.

Trust and Security Online: The digital economy cannot flourish if consumers and businesses do not trust their privacy and security online. The Administration has made progress with our Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, the U.S.-E.U. Privacy Shield, the Cybersecurity Framework, and the APEC’s Cross Border Privacy Rules. But we face a growing global cybersecurity crisis, with consumers and companies suffering at the hands of criminals and nation-states. The next Administration must work with the private sector to promote strong and innovative cybersecurity policies, pursue baseline privacy rules that protect consumers while supporting innovation, and continue the national debate regarding government access to data and the use of encryption as a security tool.

Promoting a Free and Open Internet Globally: We must continue to pursue trade agreements and other policies that protect cross-border data flows, discourage digital protectionism, and ensure open digital markets.

Addressing the Challenges and Opportunities of Emerging Technologies: For America to remain competitive, government must strive to encourage emerging technologies ranging from the Internet of Things to autonomous vehicles to biotechnology to artificial intelligence. The Department’s role in this effort is to be an evangelist, a promoter, and to break down barriers to innovation. We must also help the private sector by identifying the tough policy issues raised by new technologies and address them early in the product development life cycle.

Preparing Workers for Jobs in the Digital Economy: Recognizing that 600,000 information technology jobs in America are currently unfilled, the Department must remain engaged as a voice for the business community to encourage policy that helps ensure we have a workforce ready for the challenges presented by the digital economy.

Advanced Manufacturing
This Administration has built a strong foundation for continued growth in American manufacturing. To build on that, the Department and Congress should look to grow and better connect the institutes in the Manufacturing USA Network, strengthen the competitiveness of America’s small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies through the enhancement of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, and invest in training workers with the skills that will be valued by employers.

Further Integration of Economic Development
Both the federal government and communities have benefited from our more strategic approach to supporting economic development. The next Administration could have an even greater impact through closer coordination between our Department and the Department of Agriculture to promote rural development, the Department of Transportation to maximize the impact of transportation investments, and the Environmental Protection Agency to promote brownfields redevelopment and water infrastructure.

Unleashing the Power of Government Data

The Department of Commerce, known as “America’s Data Agency,” is one of the largest publishers of government data, generating more than 20 terabytes daily. Our Department has made it easier for individuals and organizations to gain insights and develop innovations based on our data. We continue to work with the private sector on solutions that make data sets more accessible and usable. Our long-term vision is to enable the innovators, healthcare professionals, charities, non-profits, public servants, and others to use our open data to enable and scale solutions for the public good.

Unleashing Our Data
To accelerate our efforts, the Department has:

Created the Commerce Data Service, an internal team of data scientists and engineers who bring the right expertise in-house;

Started a Data Academy to both teach data science and apprentice our staff on specific projects;

“Wrangled” our data, released more bulk data sets, built application programming interfaces (APIs), created tutorials, and built our own front end tools;

Built scalable internal-facing products (such as visualization and client identification tools) to solve problems and demonstrate what can be done with data in our programs;

Leveraged private-sector innovators who are willing to donate their technology for free to solve public problems;

Created the Opportunity Project, to drive government and tech community collaboration to spur the development of digital tools that use federal open data to increase access to opportunity in communities around the country.

Established Joint Venture Program to partner with universities, nonprofits, and industry professionals and explore innovative technical solutions that help federal agencies responsibly leverage their data to make better decisions.

Improving the Quality, Scope, and Timeliness of Economic Statistics
We have prioritized the improvement of core economic indicators such as GDP, and we have materially reduced the size of revisions from the initial release. We are also working with the private sector to improve the timeliness and quality of our statistics.

2010 Census
The Department of Commerce conducted a successful 2010 decennial census and determined that our nation’s population stood at 308,700,000 people, a 9.7 percent increase from the 2000 Census population of 281,400,000.

Looking Ahead

To achieve the most out of our assets, Commerce must do more than simply make its data available. Below are a number of concrete steps I recommend:

2020 Census
Building off the lessons learned from 2010, the 2020 Census is designed to be more automated, modern, and dynamic. By using new technologies, innovative techniques, and new data sources, there is the potential to save up to $5.2 billion while maintaining the highest standards of accuracy. To achieve this overall cost savings, adequate testing and implementation funds are needed in the coming fiscal years.

A Deeper Talent Bench
The next Administration must be bold and creative in finding new ways to hire and pay high-skilled employees. We currently struggle to fill these jobs – and the talent we have too often leaves for the private sector where higher pay awaits them. This is just as true for cybersecurity as it is for data. Whether it be creating a “Cyber Corps” or providing student loan forgiveness, we as a government will find ourselves at a disadvantage if we do not do more to entice and retain technical experts and give them a role at policymaking and program-implementation tables.

Privacy and Equality
Policymakers and regulators must encourage the social and economic benefits from the use of big data analytics, but must also be vigilant about issues like privacy protection, the possibility of re-identification of individuals, and the unintended consequences of algorithmic decision-making. In addition, we must make sure that all parts of our society benefit from more open data. There will need to be significant future investment in infrastructure and services to enable innovation around our data.

A Better, Faster Procurement Process
We need to push for better, faster ways for the federal government to acquire technologies like modernizing data storage and authorizing use of open source tools. Doing so will enable innovation and make it easier for smaller companies to work with the federal government.

New Investments and Authorities
Specific authorizations and appropriations for data science, infrastructure, and software development will be critical. Also, congressional action that would permit the sharing of information among the federal government’s statistical agencies could materially advance our work and reduce costs.

Environment: Advancing Environmental Intelligence and Ensuring Productive Fisheries and Ecosystems

The Department of Commerce is committed to advancing the scientific research and environmental intelligence necessary to help communities and businesses prepare for a changing climate. Moreover, because U.S. industry is uniquely positioned to devise technological solutions and provide leadership in sustainability practices to confront the challenge of climate change, we are helping facilitate the success of U.S. firms operating in the clean energy sector both domestically and abroad.

Advancing Environmental Intelligence
In 2014, the Department launched the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, which combines government-wide resources into one easy-to-access location to better support Americans in their efforts to understand and address the climate related risks facing their communities. These resources also inform state, local, and business decision-making to strengthen resilience. In addition, we are providing unique market intelligence to help industry strategically deploy resources in renewable energy, smart grid, and traditional environmental technologies. We are also informing mitigation planning, and making businesses and communities more hazard-resilient through efforts such as our Disaster Resilience Framework.

Improving Weather Predictions and Supporting Key Decision Makers
The Department is strengthening the National Weather Service to be more responsive to stakeholder needs and more effective in supporting emergency managers, first responders, government officials, businesses, and the public. Through development of new weather models coupled with high-performance computing upgrades, we have improved weather forecasts, increasing the lead time for warnings of severe weather events and saving lives.

Deploying the Nation’s Next Generation Weather Satellites
During this Administration, we have developed and deployed the nation’s next generation of geostationary and polar orbiting weather satellites, which serve as the backbone of weather forecasts. We just launched the most advanced weather satellite ever built. Called GOES-R, it will revolutionize forecasting and save lives by collecting three times more data and providing four times better resolution, enabling more effective and targeted warnings of severe weather events. Given the current age and capabilities of our polar orbiting satellites, we must prioritize and execute the planned 2017 launch of JPSS-1 to ensure there will be no gaps in satellite coverage.

Opening the National Water Center
In May 2015 the Department opened the National Water Center at the University of Alabama, the first facility in the nation dedicated to water forecast operations and research. As the country becomes more vulnerable to events like drought and flooding, the National Water Center will serve as a hub of integrated water prediction and forecasting for the federal government.

Rebuilding Fisheries and Combating Seafood Fraud
The United States has become the global leader in sustainable seafood. During this Administration, we have largely ended the practice of overfishing and successfully rebuilt a record number of fishery stocks that have been depleted. Due to our effective management, overfishing has hit an all-time low and 40 stocks have been returned to productive levels. The U.S. fishing industry contributed nearly $200 billion to the American economy in 2014 and supports 1.83 million jobs. Nevertheless, improper fishing continues to undermine the economic and environmental sustainability of global fisheries. The Department co-chaired the President’s Task Force on Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing to level the economic playing field by combating international pirate fishing and seafood fraud.

Building a 21st Century Fleet
Over the last eight years, we have added three modern vessels to our world-class oceanographic research fleet to support the nation’s economic and environmental needs. These vessels provide a wide range of services to the nation, from supporting the science that underpins economic fishery management decisions to charting coastal ports and seaways essential to the maritime industry.  However, without new and sustained investment in the future, the aging fleet will be reduced to half its size in just over a decade.

Restoring Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Following the Deep Water Horizon oil spill and the subsequent the implementation of the RESTORE Act in 2012, the Department has stood up the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council whose mission is to rebuild and revitalize the ecosystems and economy of the Gulf Coast. The Council set the rules and regulations necessary to disburse the BP and TransOcean settlement dollars and is now working to fund critical restoration projects.

Looking Ahead

The Department of Commerce should continue to play a convening role to spur U.S. innovators to seize the business opportunity presented by the rapid global energy transformation currently underway. We must continue to build a clean energy economy that both benefits the environment and creates American jobs. To help communities and businesses prepare for a changing climate, while also facilitating the success of American companies that are developing and deploying climate solutions, the Department should look to:

Expand Access to Our Climate Data
We should utilize the full array of federal data and services to improve the assessment and quantification of the risks associated with climate change. Businesses and communities alike continue to clamor for better and more actionable information to inform their decisions. Expanding upon these efforts should be a priority.

Incentivize States and Businesses to Adopt Clean Energy Solutions
Policymakers can accelerate job growth by providing financial incentives for states to exceed clean energy goals, and by facilitating the creation of new projects, infrastructure, and industries to match regional energy needs and existing industrial ecosystems. Federal and private industry research investments must be aligned, establishing additional joint public-private research collaborations to bring clean energy innovations to scale.

Operational Excellence

We have made operational excellence a foundation of our management approach, examples of which are woven throughout this memo. We have prioritized: improving customer service, increasing employee morale, and running the department strategically and professionally.

I am proud that our Department has won plaudits for improved customer service from a variety of third parties. Specifically, the Department has been one of the Top Five in the Partnership for Public Service’s “Best Places to Work” ranking throughout my tenure. Also, in early 2016, our Business USA Team was given the President’s Customer Service Award for the ongoing service provided to America’s military veterans under their Veteran Entrepreneur Initiative.

Looking Ahead

Enterprise Services Initiative
The federal systems for hiring and procurement remain a challenge to carrying out the daily work of our employees and launching any new initiatives. Our enterprise services initiative to transform mission enabling services – HR, information technology, financial management, and acquisition – offers the promise of substantial improvement over our current systems so that we can hire and buy more effectively and efficiently in order to fulfill our mission. We have already made enormous progress: we have awarded a contract for human resources services, bringing in a group of experts to tackle our hiring backlog; and we have implemented strategic sourcing to better leverage our buying power across the Department, all while saving millions of dollars.

Conclusion

I am proud of the team at the Department of Commerce and all of our accomplishments that have advanced the President’s priorities. The Department’s success stems from the tone and objectives President Obama set to generate broad-based prosperity in America. As part of his commitment to economic growth, he recognized that the Administration needed a stronger relationship with the business community and that our private sector leaders needed to be involved in the policymaking process. Our team has taken that vision seriously and has worked to implement those economic priorities over the last eight years.

I have come to believe that American businesses and the American taxpayer would be much better served by a streamlined “Department of Business,” similar to the President’s 2012 government reorganization proposal. A reorganized Department with a unified strategic plan for trade negotiations and enforcement, economic development, export financing, production of economic statistics and data, technology, and other business-focused services would provide stronger customer service to American businesses competing in a global economy.

Serving as the 38th Secretary of Commerce has truly been one of the great honors of my life. I want to thank President Obama for the opportunity he has given me, the trust he has put in our leadership, and the faith he has put in the 46,000 professionals at the Department to execute his vision.

It has been my privilege to serve.

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A Record of Past Progress and a Roadmap for the Future

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Fact Sheet: Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things

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The Department of Commerce today issued a green paper outlining guiding principles and an approach to support the advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is a transformational evolution in global technology with the potential to benefit public safety, health care, governance, the environment and improve the daily lives of workers and consumers.

The report, developed by the Department’s Internet Policy Task Force and Digital Economy Leadership Team, finds that the increased scale, scope and stakes of the Internet of Things will lead to opportunities and challenges that are qualitatively different than prior technological advances. The report suggests that the Department’s policies and practices that evolved over recent decades to support emerging technologies – like the internet – can form a strong foundation for fostering the growth and advancement of advanced IoT applications.

The paper reflects feedback received from an April 2016 Request for Comment as well as a workshop hosted by the Department in September 2016. Included in the paper are four principles – derived from stakeholder input – to guide the Department’s future IoT activities:

The Department will lead efforts to ensure the IoT environment is inclusive and widely accessible to consumers, workers, and businesses;

The Department will recommend policy and take action to support a stable, secure and trustworthy IoT environment;

The Department will advocate for and defend a globally connected, open and interoperable IoT environment built upon industry-driven, consensus-based standards; and

The Department will encourage IoT growth and innovation by expanding markets and reducing barriers to entry, and by convening stakeholders to address public policy challenges.

The paper also identifies four broad areas of engagement to advance these principles.

Enabling Infrastructure Availability and Access

The expected increase in connected devices associated with IoT will dramatically increase demands upon the nation’s information and communications infrastructure. It could put stress on legacy networks as well as more recently deployed all-Internet Protocol networks.

IoT will depend upon both public and private communications networks, and will use various wireline and wireless modes, including satellite, often in combination or on an interdependent basis. The need for seamless connectivity will require deployment of robust broadband infrastructure for interconnecting devices. Wireless technologies will also likely play a significant role.

Meeting these connectivity demands will require continued modernization of legacy telecommunications infrastructure and buildout of additional broadband networks.

Crafting Balanced Policy and Building Coalitions

While the computer and Internet revolutions have pushed more of our lives into the data domain, IoT will continue that trend and bring both software and connectivity into almost every aspect of the home, enterprise, and public space.

In response, the paper suggests the Department work to remove barriers and encourage coordination and collaboration among all stakeholders – government, civil society, academia, the technical community, and the private sector, globally and domestically – to ensure forward-looking, adaptable, and balanced policy that fosters innovation while addressing risks and challenges.

The green paper also proposes that the Department seek to influence, analyze, devise and promote norms and practices that will protect IoT users while encouraging the growth, advancement and applicability of IoT technologies.

Promoting Standards and Technology Advancement

The U.S. Government has an important role to play in supporting the development of IoT standards. The paper proposes that the Department help ensure necessary technical standards are developed and are in place to support global IoT interoperability and that the technical applications and devices to support IoT continue to advance.

The green paper suggests that the Department do this by monitoring IoT related technology developments and applications and contributing to research and development involving those technologies. It also proposes that the Department advocate for industry-led, consensus-based, international standards for IoT technologies and applications in its bilateral and multilateral engagements, as well as actively participate in the development of technical standards for IoT.

Encouraging Markets

The U.S. Government, and the Department of Commerce in particular, can help to encourage the development and growth of the market for IoT devices by being a leading consumer and adopter of IoT; helping to address the workforce issues that will arise due to the deployment of IoT; and helping to better understand, plan for, and respond to IoT through quantification and measurement of the deployment and use of IoT.

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U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Final Antidumping Determinations on Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain

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Fact Sheet: Commerce Finds Dumping and Countervailable Subsidies of Imports of 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-Diphosphonic Acid from the People’s Republic of China

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View full PDF with charts

On March 21, 2017, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced its affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) from the People’s Republic of China (China).

The AD and CVD laws provide U.S. businesses and workers with a transparent, quasi-judicial, and internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the market-distorting effects caused by injurious dumping and subsidization of imports into the United States, establishing an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.

For the purpose of an AD investigation, dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than its fair value. For the purpose of a CVD investigation, a countervailable subsidy is financial assistance from foreign governments that benefits the production of goods from foreign companies and is limited to specific enterprises or industries, or is contingent either upon export performance or upon the use of domestic goods over imported goods.

Commerce found that dumping has occurred by mandatory respondents Shandong Taihe Chemical Co., Ltd., and Nanjing University of Chemical Technology Changzhou Wujin Water Quality Stabilizer Factor and Nantong Uniphos Chemical Co., Ltd. (collectively “WW Group”), at dumping margins of 167.58 percent and 184.01 percent, respectively. Commerce assigned a final margin of 179.76 percent to the non-selected respondents eligible for a separate rate. Commerce determined a final dumping margin of 184.01 percent based on adverse facts available for all other producers/exporters in China that are part of the China-wide entity due to their failure to respond to Commerce’s requests for information.

Commerce calculated a final subsidy rate of 2.40 percent for mandatory respondents Shandong Taihe Chemicals Co., Ltd. and Shandong Taihe Water Treatment Technologies Co., Ltd., (collectively, the Taihe Companies) and a final subsidy rate of 0.75 percent (de minimis) for mandatory respondent Nanjing University of Chemical Technology Changzhou Wujin Water Quality Stabilizer Factory (“Wujin Water”). Seven companies, which did not respond to the Department’s request for quantity and value information, have been assigned a rate of 54.11 percent, based on total adverse facts available (AFA). All other producers/exporters in China have been assigned a final subsidy rate of 2.40 percent.

Upon publication of the final affirmative AD determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits equal to the applicable final weighted-average dumping margins. Commerce will not order the resumption of the suspension of liquidation under the CVD proceeding, nor will it require cash deposits equal to the final subsidy rates, unless and until the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues an affirmative injury determination. At that time, pursuant to sections 777A(F) and 772(c)(1)(C) of the Act, Commerce will also reduce the AD cash deposit rates by the amount of the final CVD export subsidies (i.e., 0.3 percent for Shandong Taihe Chemicals Co., Ltd. and the two separate-rate companies only). In the event of a negative ITC determination, the AD and CVD proceedings will be terminated and all entries liquidated without regard to cash deposits.

The petitioner is Compass Chemical International LLC (GA).

The merchandise covered by these investigations includes all grades of aqueous acidic (non-neutralized) concentrations of 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP), also referred to as hydroxyethylidenendiphosphonic acid, hydroxyethanediphosphonic acid, acetodiphosphonic acid, and etidronic acid. The Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) registry number for HEDP is 2809-21-4.

The merchandise subject to these investigations is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at subheading 2931.90.9043. It may also enter under HTSUS subheadings 2811.19.6090 and 2931.90.9041. While HTSUS subheadings and the CAS registry number are provided for convenience and customs purposes only, the written description of the scope of these investigations is dispositive.

In 2015, imports of HEDP from China were valued at an estimated $290.1 million.

NEXT STEPS

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is scheduled to make its final determinations on or about May 4, 2017.

If the ITC makes affirmative final determinations that imports of HEDP from China materially injure, or threaten material injury to, the domestic industry, Commerce will issue AD and CVD orders. If the ITC makes negative determinations of injury, the investigations will be terminated.

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FirstNet Partners with AT&T to Build $46.5 Billion Wireless Broadband Network for America’s First Responders

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Fact Sheet: Section 232 Investigations: The Effect of Imports on the National Security

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Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. §1862) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to conduct comprehensive investigations to determine the effects of imports of any article on the national security of the United States. Section 232 investigations include consideration of:

domestic production needed for projected national defense requirements;

domestic industry’s capacity to meet those requirements;

related human and material resources;

the importation of goods in terms of their quantities and use;

the close relation of national economic welfare to U.S. national security;

loss of skills or investment, substantial unemployment and decrease in government revenue; and

the impact of foreign competition on specific domestic industries and the impact of displacement of any domestic products by excessive imports.

Section 232 requires that the Secretary notify the Secretary of Defense that an investigation has been initiated. The Secretary also consults with the Secretary of Defense regarding methodological and policy questions raised in the investigation and can seek information and advice from other government agencies.

The Secretary’s report to the President, prepared within 270 days of initiation, focuses on whether the importation of the article in question is in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security. The President can concur or not with the Secretary's recommendations, and, if necessary, take action to “adjust the imports of an article and its derivatives.” In addition, the Secretary can recommend, and the President can take, other lawful non-trade related actions necessary to address the threat.

Since 1980, the Commerce Department has conducted fourteen Section 232 investigations. Past investigations and remedies have included the following:

Integrated Circuit Ceramic Packaging – 1992

Defense provided research and development funding for industry

Antifriction Bearings – 1988

Implementation of Buy American restrictions on super precision bearings for jet engines and miniature and instrument precision bearings for guidance systems

Metal Cutting and Forming Machine Tools – 1986

Voluntary restraint agreements with multiple countries on imports and an aggressive domestic industry competitiveness action plan

For more information about Section 232 investigations, please visit: www.bis.doc.gov/232

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U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Preliminary Countervailing Duty Determination on Tool Chests and Cabinets from the People's Republic of China

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A Communique on the G-20 Digital Economy Ministerial

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The digital economy is an integral part of our daily lives. We use online tools and services to search for information, help with our children’s homework, order household goods from our favorite retailer, and myriad other tasks. Companies around the world use similar tools to find and connect with other businesses, share information seamlessly between different manufacturing locations, and file their taxes, among other things. These tools and the value they add to the economy are referred to as the “digital economy.” The digital economy is of great interest domestically and internationally, as its development and implementation are at the heart of every country’s economic competitiveness.

The G20 (Group of 20) is a forum for representatives of governments of 20 major economies to consider and address issues of common interest impacting the citizens of these economies. As the president of the G20, Germany initiated a work stream focused on the digital economy. Over the past four months, representatives of the G20 countries have been examining policies and practices that will further the growth, development and deployment of digital economy technologies. These policies and practices cover all aspects of the digital economy, from connecting to the internet to the use of international standards to strengthening user confidence in digital technologies to policies that allow U.S.-headquartered companies to compete around the world.

Getting these approaches right is essential to ensuring that there is a level playing field in markets everywhere and that U.S. companies can compete fairly and have barrier-free access to global markets and bring their services to customers around the world. This will promote high-quality U.S. jobs and ensure that the internet remains a driver of economic growth and prosperity.

Recognizing the importance of these factors, earlier today, the United States signed the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Declaration. The Declaration recognizes and reiterates many fundamental principles that have made the internet possible and have improved the quality of our lives.

By committing with our G20 partners to the free flow of information across national borders, to the protection of intellectual property, to the use of industry-led international standards, and to fair competition, we will ensure that the full potential of the digital economy can be realized, and that our citizens will reap its benefits.

The United States government will continue to work with Germany, other G20 partners and all other interested countries to strengthen these fundamental principles while fighting against efforts to weaken them or create barriers that impede U.S. companies from accessing and competing in foreign markets.

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Statement from Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on U.S.-Canada Trade Relations

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Frequently Asked Questions: Steel Anti-dumping (AD) and Countervailing Duty (CVD) Orders

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1. What are anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders?

If a U.S. industry believes that it is being injured by unfair competition through dumping or subsidization of a foreign product, it may request the imposition of antidumping or countervailing duties by filing a petition with both the Department of Commerce and the United States International Trade Commission. The Department of Commerce investigates foreign producers and governments to determine whether dumping or subsidization has occurred and calculates the amount of dumping or subsidies. The International Trade Commission determines whether such dumping or subsidization has caused (or threatens to cause) material injury.

If both Commerce and the International Trade Commission make affirmative findings of dumping and injury, Commerce instructs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to assess duties against imports of that product into the United States.

For more information, please visit: trade.gov/enforcement/operations/

2. How many anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders are in place on steel products?

As of April 19, 2017, Commerce has 152 antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders in place on steel from 32 countries. Twenty-eight of the 152 orders (18%) are on steel products from China – 16 AD and 12 CVD. The steel orders represent almost 40 percent of all AD/CVD orders in place. There are also 25 investigations underway for steel products, 16 in which Commerce has yet to issue final determinations and 9 investigations (on cut-to-length plate) for which Commerce has issued final determinations and are waiting for final determinations from the International Trade Commission.

3. Given the large number of orders, aren’t all steel products already covered?

Given the large number of countries from which the United States imports steel and the myriad different products involved, there are still steel products from some countries which are not subject to orders. Further, some producers who are subject to orders have become adept at evading the duties.

4. Why are the AD and CVD orders not sufficient to protect the steel industry?

Antidumping and countervailing duty actions can address specific instances of unfairly traded steel products. While these measures have reduced the harm caused by unfairly traded imports for the specific steel products for which U.S. industry has sought relief, because of their limited scope, antidumping and countervailing duty remedies are not able to resolve the broader structural economic harm to the U.S. steel industry caused by massive global overcapacity and unfair foreign competition.

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U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Preliminary Countervailing Duty Determination on Tool Chests and Cabinets from the People's Republic of China

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Frequently Asked Questions: Section 232 Investigations: The Effect of Steel Imports on the National Security

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1. What is the purpose of a Section 232 Investigation?

Section 232 investigations are initiated to determine the effects of imports of any articles on U.S. national security. In this case, the Commerce Department is determining the effect of steel imports on the national security. Generally, steel products fall into one of the following five categories (including but not limited to): Flat products, long products, pipe and tube products, semi-finished products, and stainless products.

2. What authority is a Section 232 investigation conducted under?

Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. §1862) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to conduct these comprehensive investigations.

3. Who initiates a Section 232 investigation?

The Secretary of Commerce initiated the Section 232 investigation on steel imports on April 19, 2017. Investigations may also be initiated based on an application from an interested party (industry, Congress) or a request from the head of any department or agency.

4. Why has the Secretary of Commerce initiated a Section 232 on steel?

The Secretary initiated the investigation on steel imports in light of the large volumes of excess global steel production and capacity – much of which results from foreign government subsidies and other unfair practices – which distort the U.S. and global steel markets. Steel is used in a variety of commercial, infrastructure and defense applications.

The Commerce Department’s January 2017 Steel Industry Executive Summary found that overall U.S. capacity utilization was 71 percent in 2016, a drop from 77.5 percent in 2014. In 2016, import penetration of steel mill products was 25.5 percent. March 2017 steel imports to the United States are 34 percent higher than those in March 2016, a dramatic increase.

U.S. Government attempts to address foreign government subsidies and other unfair practices have not ended this distortion. There are 152 antidumping and countervailing duty orders on steel products in effect and another 25 investigations underway. The United States has encouraged other countries to reduce and address the underlying causes of excess capacity in the steel market. To date, these efforts have had little practical effect, and have not substantially alleviated the negative effect global excess capacity on the United States steel industry.

5. What does a Section 232 investigation consider?

Section 232 investigations include consideration of:

domestic production needed for projected national defense requirements;

domestic industry’s capacity to meet those requirements;

related human and material resources;

the importation of goods in terms of their quantities and use;

the close relation of national economic welfare to U.S. national security;

loss of skills or investment, substantial unemployment and decrease in government revenue; and

the impact of foreign competition on specific domestic industries and the impact of displacement of any domestic products by excessive imports.

6. How long does a Section 232 investigation take and who participates?

By law, the Secretary of Commerce has 270 days to present the Department’s findings and recommendations to the President. Section 232 mandates that the Secretary provide notice to the Secretary of Defense upon initiation of the investigation. The Secretary also consults with the Secretary of Defense regarding methodological and policy questions raised in the investigation and can seek information and advice from other government agencies.

7. What actions does the statute allow the President to take?

Within 90 days after receiving the report from the Secretary, if the Secretary finds that an import threatens to impair U.S. national security, the President shall determine whether he concurs with the Department's finding and, if so, the nature and duration of the action that must be taken to “adjust” the imports of the article and its derivatives so that such imports will not threaten to impair the national security. Under Section 232, the President has broad power to impose trade remedies such as tariffs and quotas.

8. Where can I go to find more information about Section 232 investigations?

Since 1980, Commerce has conducted fourteen Section 232 investigations. Prior to 1980, the Department of the Treasury conducted Section 232 investigations.

For more information about Section 232 investigations, please visit: www.bis.doc.gov/232

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U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Preliminary Countervailing Duty Determination on Tool Chests and Cabinets from the People's Republic of China

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FACT SHEET:  Initial Actions of the U.S.-China Economic Cooperation 100-Day Plan

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1. Following one more round of technical consultations between the United States and China, China is to allow imports of U.S. beef on conditions consistent with international food safety and animal health standards and consistent with the 1999 Agricultural Cooperation Agreement, beginning as soon as possible but no later than July 16, 2017.

2. The United States and China are to resolve outstanding issues for the import of China origin cooked poultry to the United States as soon as possible, and after reaching consensus, the United States is to publish a proposed rule by July 16, 2017, at the latest, with the United States realizing China poultry exports as soon as possible.

3. China’s National Biosafety Committee (NBC) is to hold a meeting by the end of May 2017, to conduct science-based evaluations of all eight pending U.S. biotechnology product applications to assess the safety of the products for their intended use. No additional information unrelated to safety assessment for intended use is to be requested of the applicants. For any product that does not pass the safety evaluation at the NBC meeting held in May 2017, the NBC is to operate with transparency by providing in writing to the applicants a complete list of requested‎ information necessary to finalize the safety assessment for the products' intended use, along with an explanation of how the requested information would be relevant to the safety of the products’ intended use. The NBC is to hold meetings as frequently and as soon as possible after an application is resubmitted in order to finalize reviews of remaining applications without undue delay. For the products that pass the safety evaluations of the NBC, China is to grant certificates within 20 working days in accordance with Administrative License Law of the People’s Republic of China.

4. The United States welcomes China, as well as any of our trading partners, to receive imports of LNG from the United States. The United States treats China no less favorably than other non-FTA trade partners with regard to LNG export authorizations. Companies from China may proceed at any time to negotiate all types of contractual arrangement with U.S. LNG exporters, including long-term contracts, subject to the commercial considerations of the parties. As of April 25, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy had authorized 19.2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas exports to non-FTA countries.

5. By July 16, 2017, China is to allow wholly foreign-owned financial services firms in China to provide credit rating services and to begin the licensing process for credit investigation.

6. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) intends to extend by July 16, 2017, the current no-action relief to Shanghai Clearing House for six months, with further extensions amounting to up to three years, if appropriate and consistent with the conditions set forth in the no-action relief. The People’s Bank of China and the CFTC are to work towards a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning the cooperation and the exchange of information related to the oversight of cross-border clearing organizations.

7. By July 16, 2017, China is to issue any further necessary guidelines and allow wholly U.S.-owned suppliers of electronic payment services (EPS) to begin the licensing process. This should lead to full and prompt market access. China is to continue to allow Chinese banks to issue dual brand-dual currency bankcards that allow U.S. EPS suppliers to process foreign currency payment card transactions.

8. The applicable U.S. federal regulatory authorities remain committed to apply in the United States the same bank prudential supervisory and regulatory standards to Chinese banking institutions as to other foreign banking institutions, in like circumstances and in accordance with U.S. law.

9. China is to issue both bond underwriting and settlement licenses to two qualified U.S. financial institutions by July 16, 2017.

10. The United States recognizes the importance of China’s One Belt and One Road initiative and is to send delegates to attend the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing May 14-15.

11. The United States welcomes direct investment by Chinese entrepreneurs as it does by entrepreneurs from other countries. The United States welcomes Chinese participation in the SelectUSA Investment Summit that will be held June 18-20 in Washington D.C.

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FirstNet Partners with AT&T to Build $46.5 Billion Wireless Broadband Network for America’s First Responders

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Final Amendments to Mexican Sugar Suspension Agreements:  Fact Sheet

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The Key Elements of the Deal

The Department of Commerce and the Government of Mexico and the Mexican sugar industry have reached agreement on final amendments to the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) suspension agreements on sugar from Mexico.

The Department finalized these amendments after careful consideration of the comments received from interested parties and other stakeholders on the draft amendments released on June 14.

Consistent with the draft amendments, the finalized versions update certain provisions, such as, in the CVD agreement, the ratio between the quantities of Refined and Other Sugar that Mexico may export to the United States during a given export limit period, and the polarity division between the two types of sugar.

Further, in the amended AD agreement, the minimum prices of Other Sugar and Refined Sugar are higher to ensure that Mexican sugar imports do not suppress or undercut domestic price levels, in accordance with statutory requirements.

Finally, each amended agreement contains enhanced monitoring and enforcement provisions such as a requirement for polarity testing and stiff penalties for non-compliance.

Each of these elements ensures that the amended agreements provide an adequate remedy to the U.S. domestic sugar industry against the dumping and unfair subsidization determined in the investigations.

In addition, the finalized amendments will ensure that the sugar suspension agreements continue to promote stability in the U.S sugar market, in coordination with USDA’s sugar program.

What are the Improvements over the Existing Agreements and How Do They Address the Problems?

The AD and CVD Agreements signed by the Department and the GOM in December 2014 differentiated between “Refined Sugar” at a polarity of 99.5 degrees and above, and “Other Sugar” at a polarity less than 99.5 degrees, and provided that no more than 53 percent of Mexican exports could be of Refined Sugar.

By contrast, the finalized amendments define “Refined Sugar” as sugar at a polarity of 99.2 degrees and above, and “Other Sugar” as sugar at a polarity less than 99.2 degrees and shipped in bulk, freely flowing.

These changes, which move the dividing line between Refined and Other Sugar down to 99.2 from 99.5 degrees, and add shipping conditions for Other Sugar, address concerns regarding ensuring an adequate supply of sugar in the U.S. market, and concerns that a large portion of Other Sugar is bypassing cane refiners for direct consumption or end use.

Specifically, the petitioners previously asserted that the sale of Mexican semi-refined sugar (to which the lower reference price of Other Sugar set in the AD Agreement applies) was hindering the competitiveness of U.S. cane refiners by substantively diminishing the supply of Mexican sugar for their processing operations, and suppressing U.S. prices for refined sugar.

Because the changes in the finalized amendments substantially decrease the proportion of Sugar from Mexico that may be Refined Sugar and mean that a higher reference price applies to semi-refined sugar, there is a greater likelihood that sufficient sugar for further processing will be available in the U.S. market.

The amendments finalize an additional protection for U.S. domestic refiners that was added to the draft amendments with certain modifications to preserve USDA’s flexibility. Specifically, with respect to additional needs sugar (over the expected fiscal year U.S. needs) granted to Mexico, the date on which the polarity division changes from 99.2 to 99.5 has moved from April 1 to May 1. Thus, when additional needs sugar is granted to Mexico prior to May 1, except in cases where an extraordinary or unusual circumstance is declared, such sugar shall be subject to the pre-May 1 99.2 polarity divide. For post-May 1 additional needs sugar, USDA will specify whether raw or refined sugar is needed but at a polarity divide of 99.5. Further, at any time during a given fiscal year, USDA retains the flexibility to specify the polarity of additional needs sugar specifically needed to rectify certain extraordinary and unforeseen circumstances.

Further, in the finalized amendments, the reference price for Other Sugar is being raised from 22.25 cents/pound to 23 cents/pound, while the Refined Sugar price is being raised from 26 cents/pound to 28 cents/pound.

In addition, the spread between the two prices has increased. This enhanced pricing structure serves to ensure that U.S. producers’ prices are not suppressed or undercut by imports of Mexican sugar, thereby ensuring that the agreements provide an adequate remedy to the U.S. domestic industry found to have been injured.

The amendments will be published in the Federal Register, and the Department also expects to release explanatory memoranda no later than July 14, 2017.

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Statement from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement

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Exploring the Digital Nation - Computer and Internet Use at Home

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This report updates and expands last year’s report, Exploring the Digital Nation: Home Broadband Internet Adoption in the United States, based on data from the Census Bureau’s most recent Current Population Survey (CPS) School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement. The report also provides additional information augmenting the February 2011 research preview, Digital Nation: Expanding Internet Usage and includes new findings on computer and internet use in the United States. For example, we use regression analysis to help explain some of the disparities in broadband internet adoption that exist between demographic and geographic groups. The analysis reveals that, by holding constant certain factors such as household income, education, or age, the adoption disparities may decrease significantly.

Below is a summary of our final review of the 2010 CPS results. These findings may assist policymakers as they consider ways to promote broadband deployment and adoption in the United States.

As of October 2010, more than 68 percent of households used broadband internet access service, up from 64 percent one year earlier (Section 1, Figure 1). Approximately 80 percent of households had at least one internet user, either at home or elsewhere (Section 3.1, Figure 3).

Cable modem (32 percent) and DSL (23 percent) ranked as the most commonly used broadband technologies (Section 3.1, Figure 3). Other technologies, including mobile broadband, fiber optics, and satellite services, accounted for a small but growing, segment of households with broadband internet access service.

Dial-up use at home – the preferred form of residential internet access through the mid-2000s – continued to decline from five percent in October 2009 to three percent one year later (Section 3.1, Figure 3).

Over three-fourths (77 percent) of households had a computer – the principal means by which households access the internet – compared with 62 percent in 2003 (Section 1, Figure 1). Low computer use correlates with low broadband adoption rates.

Broadband internet adoption, as well as computer use, varied across demographic and geographic groups. Lower income families, people with less education, those with disabilities, Blacks, Hispanics, and rural residents generally lagged the national average in both broadband adoption and computer use. For example, home broadband adoption and computer use stood at only 16 percent and 27 percent, respectively, among rural households headed by a Black householder without a high school diploma (Section 4.2, Table 4). Also, households with school-age children exhibited higher broadband adoption and computer use rates than other households (Section 4.1, Figure 7).

The differences in socio-economic attributes do not entirely explain why some groups lagged in adoption. Broadband internet adoption disparities decrease when regression analysis holds constant certain household characteristics, such as income, education, race, ethnicity, foreign-born status, household composition, disability status, or geographic location. For example, the gap with respect to broadband internet adoption associated with disabilities decreases from 29 to six percentage points when controlling for income, education, age, and other attributes (Section 4.3, Figure 18).

The most important reasons households without broadband internet or dial-up service gave for not subscribing were: (1) lack of need or interest (47 percent); (2) lack of affordability (24 percent); and (3) inadequate computer (15 percent) (Section 5, Figure 19).

Households reporting affordability as the major barrier to subscribing to broadband service cited both the fixed cost of purchasing a computer and the recurring monthly subscription costs as important factors (Section 5, Figure 21). Our analysis of the expanded CPS data suggests that work, school, public libraries, and someone else’s house were all popular alternatives for internet access among those with no home broadband internet access service (Section 6, Figure 23). Not surprisingly, individuals with no home broadband internet access service relied on locations such as public libraries (20 percent) or other people’s houses (12 percent) more frequently than those who used broadband internet access service at home.

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Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation

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Our science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce is crucial to America’s innovative capacity and global competitiveness. Yet women are vastly underrepresented in STEM jobs and among STEM degree holders despite making up nearly half of the U.S. workforce and half of the college-educated workforce. That leaves an untapped opportunity to expand STEM employment in the United States, even as there is wide agreement that the nation must do more to improve its competitiveness.

Although women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs. This has been the case throughout the past decade, even as college-educated women have increased their share of the overall workforce.

Women with STEM jobs earned 33 percent more than comparable women in non-STEM jobs – considerably higher than the STEM premium for men. As a result, the gender wage gap is smaller in STEM jobs than in non-STEM jobs.

Women hold a disproportionately low share of STEM undergraduate degrees, particularly in engineering.

Women with a STEM degree are less likely than their male counterparts to work in a STEM occupation; they are more likely to work in education or healthcare.

There are many possible factors contributing to the discrepancy of women and men in STEM jobs, including a lack of female role models, gender stereotyping, and less family-friendly flexibility in the STEM fields. Regardless of the causes, the findings of this report provide evidence of a need to encourage and support women in STEM.

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Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers drive our nation’s innovation and competitiveness by generating new ideas, new companies and new industries. However, U.S. businesses frequently voice concerns over the supply and availability of STEM workers. Over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as growth in non-STEM jobs. STEM workers are also less likely to experience joblessness than their non-STEM counterparts. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy and are a critical component to helping the U.S. win the future.

In 2010, there were 7.6 million STEM workers in the United States, representing about 1 in 18 workers.

STEM occupations are projected to grow by 17.0 percent from 2008 to 2018, compared to 9.8 percent growth for non-STEM occupations.

STEM workers command higher wages, earning 26 percent more than their non-STEM counterparts.

More than two-thirds of STEM workers have at least a college degree, compared to less than one-third of non-STEM workers.

STEM degree holders enjoy higher earnings, regardless of whether they work in STEM or non-STEM occupations.

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Education Supports Racial and Ethnic Equality in STEM

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Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workers are essential to American innovation and competitiveness in an increasingly dynamic and global marketplace. In this third report, we examine demographic disparities in STEM education and find that educational attainment may affect equality of opportunity in these critical, high-quality jobs of the future.

This report follows an analysis of labor market outcomes and gender disparities among STEM workers. We find that regardless of race and Hispanic origin, higher college graduation rates are associated with higher shares of workers with STEM jobs. But non-Hispanic Whites and Asians are much more likely than other minority groups to have a bachelor’s degree. By increasing the numbers of STEM workers among currently underrepresented groups through education, we can help ensure America’s future as a global leader in technology and innovation. Other key findings of this report include:

Non-Hispanic Whites comprise the largest group of STEM workers, accounting for about seven out of ten STEM workers, which aligns closely with their share of the overall workforce.

Non-Hispanic Asians are most likely (42 percent) to graduate college with a STEM degree, while the propensities of other groups are all fairly similar (17-22 percent).

Half of all non-Hispanic Asian workers with STEM degrees have STEM jobs, compared to 30 percent of Hispanics and non-Hispanic Black and American Indian and Alaska Native workers.

One in five STEM workers is foreign-born, of which 63 percent come from Asia.

STEM workers in all demographic groups, including the foreign-born, earn more than their non-STEM counterparts. Hispanics and non-Hispanic Blacks receive a significantly larger STEM premium than do non-Hispanic Whites.

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Foreign Direct Investment in the United States

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When foreign companies invest in U.S. businesses, known as foreign direct investment (FDI), it not only provides jobs but relatively high-paying jobs – indeed, up to 30% higher-paying. Encouraging more FDI and expanding the number of countries that invest in the United States would potentially lead to more economic growth and create even more new, high-paying U.S. jobs.

During the last ten years, majority-owned U.S. affiliates of foreign companies have employed between 5-6 million workers.

FDI supported 2 million manufacturing jobs, which have been less affected by the sector-wide losses in employment than domestic manufacturing jobs.

Workers at majority-owned U.S. affiliates of foreign companies receive 30% higher pay than non-FDI supported jobs.

U.S. FDI totaled $194 billion in 2010 and $1.7 trillion over the last ten years.

FDI flows vary greatly year-to-year and generally follow the U.S. business cycle: FDI hit a low of $64 billion in 2003 and then surged to a historical peak of $328 billion in 2008.

At present, relatively few countries invest in the United States. In fact, 84% of FDI in the U.S. in 2010 came from or through eight countries: Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Canada.

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U.S. exports of private services exceed a half trillion dollars and account for nearly one-third of all U.S. exports of goods and services.

Growth in exports of services has outpaced the rise in imports. The U.S. trade surplus in services rose to a total of $168.0 billion in 2010. The surplus has grown quickly since 2003, rising to $101.2 billion.

Financial and business services contribute the most to the U.S. surplus, though fees for software and industrial process licenses, other royalties, and education services also contribute significantly.

The surplus in travel and passenger fares increased $29.8 billion from 2003 to 2010.

The largest U.S. surpluses in services by country are with Canada, Japan, Ireland, Brazil, the United Kingdom, China, and Mexico.

The U.S. services surplus with China has accelerated rapidly since 2007, from $2.4 billion to $10.4 billion in 2010, because of sharp gains in exports and relatively flat imports. Gains have been realized across all categories of services.

The largest U.S. services deficit is with Bermuda, which is a major source of U.S. reinsurance imports. The second largest is with India, primarily because of U.S. purchases of computer services.

The largest U.S. deficit by service type is in insurance. U.S. insurers purchased $41.2 billion more in reinsurance than they sold in 2009.

U.S. Trade in Private Services May 2011 U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration Executive Summary ESA Issue Brief #01-11

*Services are non-tangible items of value, such as travel, shipping, tuition, phone service, computer processing, and software licenses. Private services exclude government.

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The role of the manufacturing sector in the U.S. economy is more prominent than is suggested solely by its output or number of workers. It is a cornerstone of innovation in our economy: manufacturing firms fund most domestic corporate research and development (R&D), and the resulting innovations and productivity growth improve our standard of living. Manufacturing also drives U.S. exports and is crucial for a strong national defense.

The current economic recovery has witnessed a welcome return in manufacturing job growth. Since its January 2010 low to April 2012, manufacturing employment has expanded by 489,000 jobs or 4 percent¹2 Coupled with attrition in the coming years from Baby Boomer retirements, this bodes well for continued hiring opportunities in the manufacturing sector.³

The rebound in manufacturing is important, not only as a sign of renewed strength but also because manufacturing jobs are often cited as “good jobs:” they pay well, provide good benefits and manufacturing workers are less likely to quit than workers in other private sector industries.⁴ In fact, our analysis finds evidence in support of these claims.

Specifically, this report shows that:

On average, hourly wages and salaries for manufacturing jobs were $29.75 an hour in 2010 compared to $27.47 an hour for non-manufacturing jobs. Total hourly compensation, which includes employer-provided benefits, was $38.27 for workers in manufacturing jobs and $32.84 for workers in non-manufacturing jobs, a 17 percent premium.

After controlling for demographic, geographic and job characteristics, manufacturing jobs experienced a significant 7 percent manufacturing wage premium. In other words, all else being equal, workers in manufacturing tend to earn 7 percent more per hour than their counterparts in other private industries.

Like manufacturing workers, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers are catalysts for innovation in the economy. Not surprisingly, there is considerable overlap between the STEM and manufacturing workforces, with nearly one-third of college-educated manufacturing workers holding a STEM job.

The educational attainment of the manufacturing workforce is rising steadily. Today, more than half of manufacturing jobs are held by persons with at least some college education.

Manufacturing workers are more likely than other workers to have significant, highly-valued employer-provided benefits, including medical insurance and retirement benefits. Taking these into account increases the manufacturing compensation premium to 15 percent.

The size of the premium, including or excluding benefits, increases consistently with educational attainment of a worker. Furthermore, the compensation premium has risen over the past decade across all levels of educational attainment.

In sum, manufacturing jobs provide benefits to workers with higher overall compensation than other sectors, and to the economy through innovation that boosts our nation’s standard of living.

¹ Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics. www.bls.gov/ces.

² Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. www.bls.gov/jlt.

³ It is important to distinguish between job opportunities and net job growth. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently projected essentially no net change in manufacturing employment between 2010 and 2020, millions of openings in the sector will arise in the coming years in order to replace workers who retire or otherwise leave manufacturing jobs. BLS projects such openings by occupational category, and it estimates that, for example, production occupations (which are predominately in the manufacturing industry) will increase by 356,800 between 2010 and 2020, companies will actually need to fill more than 2.2 million openings over the decade. In short, manufacturing firms will continue to be a good source of good job opportunities. One factor potentially limiting the growth in manufacturing jobs is a mismatch between the skills needed for the jobs and the skills held by those looking for jobs. See, for example, “An economy that works: Job creation and America’s future,” Manyika et al., McKinsey Global Institute (June 2011).

⁴ Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Job Openings and Labor Turnover—February 2012,” Table 3. www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf.

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Foreign Direct Investment Benefits the U.S. Economy

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The United States has been the world’s largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) since 2006. Every day, foreign companies establish new operations in the United States or provide additional capital to established businesses. With the world’s largest consumer market, skilled and productive workers, a highly innovative environment, appropriate legal protections, a predictable regulatory environment and a growing energy sector, the United States offers an attractive investment climate for firms across the globe.

Foreign direct investment in the United States is substantial

In 2012, net U.S. assets of foreign affiliates totaled $3.9 trillion. The United States consistently ranks as one of the top destinations in the world for foreign direct investment (FDI), with inflows totaling $1.5 trillion in FDI just since 2006. For 2012, FDI inflows totaled $166 billion.

The U.S. manufacturing sector draws a considerable share of FDI dollars, led by pharmaceuticals and petroleum and coal products. Outside manufacturing, wholesale trade; mining, non-bank holding companies, finance and insurance and banking receive the greatest shares of foreign investment.

Investment flows into the United States come mostly from a small number of industrial countries. Since 2010, Japan, Canada, Australia, Korea and seven European countries¹ collectively have accounted for more than 80 percent of new FDI. Although still small, flows from emerging economies like China and Brazil are growing rapidly.

Foreign direct investment benefits the U.S. Economy

In 2011, value-added by majority-owned U.S. affiliates of foreign companies accounted for 4.7 percent of total U.S. private output.

These firms employed 5.6 million people in the United States or 4.1 percent of private-sector employment. About one-third of jobs at U.S. affiliates are in the manufacturing sector.

These affiliates account for 9.6 percent of U.S. private investment and 15.9 percent of U.S. private research and development spending.

In the 2008-09 recession and subsequent recovery, employment at U.S. affiliates was more stable than overall private-sector employment. As a result, U.S. affiliates’ share of total U.S. manufacturing employment rose from 14.8 percent in 2007 to 17.8 percent in 2011.

Compensation at U.S. affiliates has been consistently higher than the U.S. average over time, and the differential holds for both manufacturing and non-manufacturing jobs.

Looking ahead, the United States will remain an attractive destination for foreign investment, and this investment will help bolster our economy. However, we need to continue to nurture and build upon the underlying strengths of the U.S. economy that make firms want to invest here; including an open investment regime, a large economy, a skilled labor force, community colleges, world-class research universities, predictable and stable regulatory regime, adequate infrastructure and new energy sources.

This report was prepared by the President's Council on Economic Affairs and the Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration.

¹ These seven European countries, in descending order of direct investment in the U.S. from 2010 to 2012, are: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium

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The temporary help services industry has bounced back from the recession and continues to grow. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, the temporary help industry only accounts for 2 percent of all employment in the U.S. economy (as of July 2014) but accounts for 11 percent of all the jobs created since the end of the recession. Growth has continued steadily in 2014, with 107,100 temp jobs added during the first seven months of the year. Temp workers are a critical, growing component of the workforce in many industries and occupations, even for traditional factory jobs, as explored below.¹

¹ Matthew Dey, Susan N. Houseman, and Anne E. Polivka. “Manufacturers’ Outsourcing to Staffing Services.” Cornell University ILR School. June 2012. Available at: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/ilrreview/vol65/iss3/3/.

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The U.S. manufacturing sector has turned a corner. For the first time in over 10 years, output and employment are growing steadily. Manufacturing output has grown 38 percent since the end of the recession, and the sector accounts for 19 percent of the rise in real gross domestic product (GDP) since then. Through May, the sector has added 646,000 jobs and manufacturers are actively recruiting to fill another 243,000 positions.¹

The steady growth across all three of these areas might have seemed like wishful thinking just a few years ago when manufacturing was hit especially hard. Yet, manufacturing output and exports have surpassed their pre-recession peaks, and employment has begun to grow again for the first time since 1998. Analysis by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors indicates that this is more than a cyclical rebound; the US has gained about four times as many manufacturing jobs since 2009 as would be expected from cyclical factors alone. Nonetheless, while the manufacturing expansion is robust, some industries and U.S. states have fared better than others. This report provides an overview of these trends in manufacturing, examining production, international trade, and the labor market.

Our analysis shows that:

Manufacturing has contributed decisively to GDP growth. Since the end of the recession in second quarter 2009, real manufacturing value added has climbed 18 percent, compared to an 11 percent rise in real U.S. GDP, increasing manufacturing’s share of total GDP to 12.5 percent at the end of 2013.

The manufacturing sector added 646,000 jobs from February 2010 to May 2014.

Average annual weekly hours for production workers in the manufacturing sector have climbed to their highest level since the mid-1940s.

Although growth has returned across manufacturing, just two industries have accounted for nearly half the rise in shipments: transportation equipment and petroleum and coal products.

Export sales account for more than a quarter of the rebound in shipments since 2009. Exports of U.S. manufactured goods totaled $1.2 trillion in 2013. Transportation equipment and refined petroleum (and coal) products captured 43 percent of the export gains.

Foreign investors also are helping build the U.S. manufacturing sector. As of 2012, total direct investment in the U.S. from abroad totaled $2.7 trillion, of which $899 billion (34 percent) was placed in the manufacturing sector.

The number of manufacturing establishments is growing for the first time since 1999.

87 percent of the job gains in manufacturing have been in three durable goods industries: transportation equipment, fabricated metal products and machinery.

Job gains in manufacturing have been widespread throughout the country. More than half of the jobs added were in five states: Michigan, Texas, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.

¹ Openings data from Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Winning Business Investment in the United States

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The United States is an increasingly attractive location for business investment from global companies. In AT Kearney’s 2013 FDI Confidence Index, the United States surged past countries like China, Brazil and India to become the country with the top FDI prospects globally, as ranked by 302 companies representing 28 countries and multiple industry sectors.¹

This marks the first time that the US occupied the #1 spot in the survey since 2001.² In a survey of U.S. manufacturers with production abroad late last year, BCG found that the majority (54 percent) are looking at re-shoring to the United States, up from 37 percent in 2012.³

More and more companies are choosing to locate here after weighing the United States’ competitive advantages, including our:

Skills and productivity: The U.S. workforce is among the most skilled and productive globally – more than 30 percent more productive than Germany’s and nearly twice as productive as South Korea’s.⁴

Innovation: The United States is the global leader in patents, producing nearly 30 percent of all patents worldwide, and has 15 of the top 25 leading research universities.⁵ Not surprisingly, the United States also has over a third of the world’s total R&D investment, more than any other country.⁶

Energy: With a century of reserves, natural gas costs one third as much here as it does in Asia and our low energy costs overall are estimated to save U.S. manufacturers nearly $130 billion annually compared to Europe.⁷

Access to markets: Locating in the United States provides unparalleled access to the largest consumer market in the world and rapid access to global markets, with the United States having free trade agreements with 20 other countries and the most rapid export clearances of the 185 countries surveyed by the World Bank.⁸

As the United States becomes increasingly competitive for investment, more global companies, including companies that are foreign-owned, are investing in and creating jobs in America. Business fixed investment from companies choosing to grow and invest in the United States accounts for more than 20 percent of the rebound in real GDP since mid-2009.⁹

While the precise amount of re-shoring from U.S. companies is difficult to track, all signs are that it is growing. And more measurable data on investments and jobs created by foreign companies in the United States provides a powerful proxy for the overall trend of re-shoring and growing U.S. competitiveness for business investment.

Since 2006, the United States has been the world’s largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI).¹⁰ In 2013, net FDI in the United States, as measured by U.S. assets of foreign affiliates, reached an all-time high totaling $4.6 trillion.¹¹ And FDI inflows have swelled, totaling $1.5 trillion between 2006 and 2012. For 2013 alone, FDI inflows totaled $193 billion up from $166 billion in 2012.¹² In addition, since 2010, the United States has experienced a step change in its share of total FDI inflows to developed countries, as measured by inflows to the G7, receiving nearly 50 percent of total FDI inflows to these countries annually, a two-thirds larger share than its typical share in prior years.¹³

This investment strengthens our economy: it directly supports well-paying jobs for millions of U.S. workers, paves the way for future business expansion and hiring, expands our exports, transfers innovations and knowledge from around the globe, and funds an outsized share of the nation’s research and development. In 2011, global investment, as measured for majority-owned U.S. affiliates of foreign companies,[i] represented only 4.7 percent of total U.S. private output, but contributed 15.9 percent of U.S. private research and development spending; more than triple its respective share.¹⁴

Global investment creates high-paying U.S. jobs. Because global investment is concentrated in the knowledge-intensive, high-skill industries where the United States leads globally, compensation at U.S. affiliates of foreign companies is 33 percent higher than the U.S. average and is consistently higher than the national average for both manufacturing and non-manufacturing jobs alike.¹⁵ Global investment accounts for a significant share of jobs and job growth in competitive U.S. industries – like manufacturing, where global investment contributes 18 percent of employment and created 120,000 manufacturing jobs between 2009 and 2011.¹⁶ And this trend is accelerating as the United States becomes more competitive – one-third of all manufacturing jobs created in 2011, the most recent year for which we have data, were created by foreign companies choosing to locate production in the United States.¹⁷

In 2011, the Administration launched SelectUSA, the first-ever U.S. government-wide program to bring jobs and investment from around the world to the United States:

SelectUSA, operated by the Department of Commerce, makes investment attraction a core priority of the Administration, serving as a single point of contact for ready investors, coordinating investment advocacy all the way up to the President and providing services and support for U.S. regions and communities to compete globally for investment.

In just over two years, SelectUSA facilitated over $18 billion in new investment for the United States.

SelectUSA will provide services to nearly 1,000 potential investors and economic development organizations this year alone, advising them on the advantages of investing in the United States and helping them navigate the process.

Looking ahead, we need to continue to nurture and build upon the underlying strengths of the U.S. economy, and harness programs such as SelectUSA so that even more companies will choose to invest and grow in the United States.

[i] Data on the U.S. output, assets, and employment of majority-owned U.S. affiliates of foreign companies, used throughout this report is also referred to here as global investment.

¹ AT Kearney, Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index, 2013.

³ Ibid.

³ Boston Consulting Group. Majority of Large Manufacturers Are Now Planning or Considering ‘Reshoring’ from China to the U.S.

⁴ The Conference Board Total Economy Database™, January 2014, www.conference-board.org/data/economydatabase/

⁵ World Intellectual Property Organization. Press Release March 2014. www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2014/article_0002.html.; Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2014. www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/mar/06/worlds-top-100-universities-2014-reputations-ranked-times-higher-education.

⁶ Batelle. Global R&D Funding Forecast 2013. www.battelle.org

⁷ McKinsey Global Institute. Game Changers: Five opportunities for U.S. Growth and Renewal. July 2013.; World Energy Outlook 2013 Factsheet.

⁸ World Bank. Doing Business Project. Time to Export. data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.EXP.DURS

⁹ Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis. National Income and Product Accounts.

¹⁰ Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis.

¹¹ United Nations.

¹² Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis. Direct Investment and MNCs. www.bea.gov/international/index.htm#omc. Under an alternative measure, FDI grew from $160.6 billion in 2012 to $187.5 billion in 2013.

¹³ OECD. Investment Statistics Long FDI Series. www.oecd.org/investment/statistics. April 2014.

¹⁴ Bureau of Economic Analysis. Direct Investment and MNCs. www.bea.gov/international/index.htm#omc

¹⁵ Bureau of Economic Analysis. Direct Investment and MNCs. www.bea.gov/international/index.htm#omc

¹⁶ Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

¹⁷ Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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Digital Economy and Cross-Border Trade: The Value of Digitally-Deliverable Services

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The digital, or internet, economy has transformed many aspects of our lives over the past two decades. How we communicate, entertain ourselves, make decisions, and do business continues to evolve as the digital economy grows in size and importance. Given this transformation, it is becoming even more important for policymakers to consider how the internet affects our lives and the economy as a whole.

The Department of Commerce has played an instrumental role in developing policies that facilitate the digital economy. The Department’s Internet Policy Task Force identifies leading public policy and operational challenges in the internet environment. The Task Force is committed to maintaining the global free flow of information online. This report provides a framework for understanding the size and nature of some cross-border data flows. We do not forecast how data flows would change in response to any given policy decision.

Our analysis uses digitally-enabled services categories identified in previous research as a starting point for identifying “digitally-deliverable” services – i.e., services that may be but are not necessarily, delivered digitally. These service categories are the ones in which digital technologies present the greatest opportunity to transform the relationship between buyer and seller from the traditional in-person delivery mode to a digital one. The aggregate trade data used in this report capture a mix of transactions that are entirely digital, somewhat digital or entirely non-digital; our estimates focus on those transactions that are most likely to be done digitally. Because we do not have a direct measure of services that are digitally traded within each service category, it is difficult to precisely estimate how much this percentage has increased over time. Instead, this paper presents an upper-bound estimate of the percentage of services exports that are digitally-deliverable.

We also know that there is a great deal of interest in understanding the economic value related to digitally-enabled data and services delivered to users at no price. An exact number of bytes associated with these data flows may not be known, but the number is large and growing. Data flows related to subscribers’ use of Facebook, Google, Twitter and other free online services are not covered in this report because they are not captured as monetary transactions in federal cross-border trade statistics. However, traditional services trade related to the operation of these free services – such as advertising services, internet access services, and legal services – are included in our analysis if they are exported to other countries from the United States.

Our analysis reveals that in 2011:

The United States exported $357.4 billion in digitally-deliverable services. This represented over 60 percent of U.S. services exports and about 17 percent of total U.S. goods and services exports.¹

The United States imported $221.9 billion in digitally-deliverable services. This represented 56 percent of U.S. services imports and about 8 percent of total U.S. goods and services imports.

The United States had a digitally-deliverable services trade surplus of $135.5 billion.

The total value of digitally-deliverable services in the supply chain of total U.S. goods and services exports was $627.8 billion, or about 34 percent of total export value.

The majority of U.S. digitally-deliverable services exports went to Europe and to the Asia and Pacific region.

Specifically, the United States exported the highest value of digitally-deliverable services to the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and Japan. The highest values of digitally-deliverable imports came from the United Kingdom, Bermuda, Switzerland, and Canada.

¹ For consistency with the input-output tables, Table 1 in this report excludes re-exports and presents a larger number (20 percent) for the digitally-deliverable share of total exports. In contrast, official statistics include re-exports.

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U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Final Antidumping Determinations on Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain

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Building on previous work examining broadband availability across different geographies by population, this report examines broadband availability by job location. As in Broadband Availability, Beyond the Rural/Urban Divide, this report divides the United States into five categories based on the degree of urbanization. Rather than examining broadband and general population levels; however, this report assesses the impact of broadband availability in the workplace. Virtually all jobs have access to very basic broadband speeds. However, jobs located in more rural communities have less access to high-speed broadband than more urban communities, for both upload and download speeds, and the gaps in availability generally are greater at higher speeds.

This brief also examines two industries – manufacturing and information. Manufacturing jobs, which are relatively concentrated in more rural communities, have less access to higher speed broadband than information jobs, which are concentrated in more urbanized communities.

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Statement from the Department of Commerce on the President’s America First Budget Blueprint

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Competition Among U.S. Broadband Service Providers

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More than one-quarter of American homes have not adopted internet service, many citing cost as their primary reason. Since market competition can significantly affect consumer prices, we set out to ask: how many Internet service providers (ISPs) are available to consumers at different levels of download speeds?

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Fostering Innovation, Creating Jobs, Driving Better Decisions: The Value of Government Data

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Everyone is talking about the importance of data to our society as data improves all of our decisions: those we make as individuals, as businesses, as governments. The federal government has been in the data business for quite some time, going back to the first decennial Census in 1790. Since then, the U.S. government has played a key role in providing valuable data to our country.

Just how valuable is the data the federal government provides? That question can’t be answered precisely, but there are many reasons to believe that the value of the data to our society far exceeds its cost. As a first step in ascertaining better estimates of just how valuable government data is, this report focuses on federal statistical data, data that informs us about our huge, complex, and dynamic economy and data that tells us about our ever-changing population. Examples of government statistical data include gross domestic product, employment and unemployment, consumer prices, retail sales, housing vacancies, residential construction, agricultural supply and demand, corporate profits and international trade – there are many more.

This report finds:

Government data potentially guides trillions of dollars of investments each year.

Government data helps governments to better target scarce resources, businesses stay competitive and individuals stay informed about the communities in which they live. As the real world examples in this report demonstrate, individuals, businesses, other organizations and state and local governments use government data to help make better-informed decisions that are better, faster and more plentiful because of the ready availability and high quality of government data.

The cost of Government data is small relative to its potential benefits.

Since 2004, the federal government’s principal statistical agencies have spent an average of $3.7 billion annually on data collection, processing and dissemination. This expenditure amounts to about three cents, per person, per day, and is only 0.02 percent of our roughly $17 trillion dollar economy.

Government data is uniquely comprehensive, consistent, confidential, credible, relevant and accessible.

Acting alone, the private sector would likely provide only some of the types of data produced by the government. The federal government is uniquely positioned to provide comprehensive, consistent, credible, relevant and accessible data, all while protecting confidentiality. Government data is used directly to support decision making, indirectly through commercially available value-added products, and as a benchmark and standard for private data products. Thus, the government and the private sector complement each other.

Government data is commercially valuable.

Government data is a key input to a wide variety of commercial products and services in the economy, although many of these uses may not be apparent because attribution to the government is not required. This report identifies industries that use government data intensively and provides a rough estimate of the size of this sector. The lower-bound estimate, based on a very short and incomplete list of firms that rely heavily on government data, suggests that government data helps private firms generate revenues of at least $24 billion annually – far in excess of spending on government statistical data. The upper-bound estimate suggests that this sector generates annual revenues of $221 billion. These crude estimates provide rough order-of-magnitude estimates of the range of the sector’s size and illustrate the importance of government data as an input into commercial products and services. The value of government data is the extent to which the decisions based on government data are better than the decisions that would have been made without government data. Because such counter-factual evidence is not widely available, this report makes the case that the value of government data far outweighs its cost by outlining the economic arguments for government provision of data, by estimating the size of the industry sector that intensively uses government data, and by illustrating the wide range of ways in which government data is used.

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The U.S. Telecommunications Services Industry: Assessing Competitive Advantage 

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Previous research shows that both exporting and the use of advanced technologies independently enhance the performance of U.S. manufacturing plants in a variety of ways. The research presented below shows that plants that both export and use advanced technology outperform other plants in a number of important ways: they increase their employment more rapidly, they pay higher wages and they are less likely to fail. The research also shows that manufacturing plants that use advanced technologies are more likely to export.

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Re-Examining the Cost-Effectiveness of the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit

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This paper evaluates several well-known empirical studies of the cost-effectiveness of the research and experimentation (R&E) tax credit.

Studies of the credit's effect during 1981-1985 generally find weak evidence of cost-effectiveness. However, more recent studies focusing on a longer period conclude that the tax credit has induced an increase in R&E spending by an amount that is significantly greater than the foregone tax revenue. The independent analyses in the latter studies appear empirically well founded and their results are robust. Their individual conclusions that the R&E tax credit was cost-effective during the 1980s converge toward the same value – roughly $2.00 of induced R&E spending per dollar of revenue loss.

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Exploring the Digital Nation: America's Emerging Online Experience

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This report, based on data from the Census Bureau’s July 2011 Current Population Survey (“CPS”) Computer and Internet Use Supplement, updates and substantially expands on the previous study in this series, Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home, issued in 2011. For the first time in eight years, this study goes beyond new findings on computer and internet adoption in the United States to also present data on Americans’ online activities – what Americans do once they connect to the internet.

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Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: Industries in Focus

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Innovation – the process through which new ideas are generated and successfully introduced in the marketplace – is a primary driver of U.S. economic growth and national competitiveness.¹ Likewise, U.S. companies’ use of trademarks to distinguish their goods and services from those of competitors represents an additional support for innovation, enabling firms to capture market share, which contributes to growth in our economy. The granting and protection of intellectual property rights is vital to promoting innovation and creativity and is an essential element of our free-enterprise, market-based system. Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are the principal means used to establish ownership of inventions and creative ideas in their various forms, providing a legal foundation to generate tangible benefits from innovation for companies, workers, and consumers. Without this framework, the creators of intellectual property would tend to lose the economic fruits of their own work, thereby undermining the incentives to undertake the investments necessary to develop the IP in the first place.² Moreover, without IP protection, the inventor who had invested time and money in developing the new product or service (sunk costs) would always be at a disadvantage to the new firm that could just copy and market the product without having to recoup any sunk costs or pay the higher salaries required by those with the creative talents and skills. As a result, the benefits associated with American ingenuity would tend to more easily flow outside of the United States.

IP is used everywhere in the economy, and IP rights support innovation and creativity in virtually every U.S. industry. While IP rights play a large role in generating economic growth, little attention has been given to identifying which industries produce or use significant amounts of IP and rely most intensively on these rights. This report begins such an investigation by developing several industry-level metrics on IP use and employing these measures to identify a set of the most IP-intensive industries in the U.S. economy. To develop the industry-level metrics discussed, several databases were used, some of which (for the patent and trademark analyses) are publicly available.³ In the future, more user-friendly sets of these patent and trademark data will be made available on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website.

This report employs USPTO administrative data to identify the industries that most intensively use the protection offered by patents and trademarks. For copyrights, the report identifies the set of industries primarily responsible for both the creation and production of copyrighted materials. The report then uses standard statistical methods to identify which American industries are the most patent-, trademark- and copyright-intensive, and defines this subset of industries as “IP-intensive.” Using data collected from sources across the U.S. government, the report examines both the important trends and economic characteristics of these highly IP intensive industries and their meaningful contributions to the U.S. economy. There are several important findings contained in the report. According to the analysis in this report, the direct and indirect employment in these industries is substantial: Direct employment in the subset of most IP-intensive industries identified in this report amounted to 27.1 million jobs in 2010, while indirect activities associated with these industries provided an additional 12.9 million jobs throughout the economy in 2010, for a total of 40.0 million jobs, or 27.7 percent of all jobs in the economy.

Because all U.S. industries rely on IP to some degree, the statistics reported here for the sectors that use IP most intensively may tend to under-represent the broad impact of IP in the American economy. Moreover, the statistics reported here may not fully reflect the long-run economic benefits and costs of IP in promoting innovation and productivity growth. For example, while this report shows that employment in trademark-intensive industries is almost six times as great as employment in patent-intensive industries, it may be that the kinds of innovation protected by patents play a larger role in driving the long-run growth of productivity throughout the economy. This report does not contain policy recommendations and is not intended to directly advance particular policy issues. By developing new quantitative measures of IP-intensity by industry, the report aims to promote a better understanding of the industries where IP plays a particularly important role. Although policy issues are not discussed in this report, as a general matter, we note the importance of achieving a balanced system of IP rights that protects inventors and creators from unlawful use of their work while encouraging innovation, competition, and the markets for technology in which IP is transacted. Importantly, using IP rights to support innovation and creativity means recognizing the public domain and limits, such as fair use, which balances the public’s right to use content legally with IP owners’ interests.

Principal Findings:

The entire U.S. economy relies on some form of IP because virtually every industry either produces or uses it.

By focusing on relevant data and various statistical measures, this report identified 75 industries (from among 313 total) as IP-intensive. These IP-intensive industries directly accounted for 27.1 million American jobs, or 18.8 percent of all employment in the economy, in 2010.⁴ A substantial share of IP-intensive employment in the United States was in the 60 trademark-intensive industries, with 22.6 million jobs in 2010. The 26 patent-intensive industries accounted for 3.9 million jobs in 2010, while the 13 copyright-intensive industries provided 5.1 million jobs.⁵

IP-intensive industries accounted for about $5.06 trillion in value added, or 34.8 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), in 2010.

While IP-intensive industries directly supported 27.1 million jobs either on their payrolls or under employment contracts, these sectors also indirectly supported 12.9 million more supply chain jobs throughout the economy. In other words, every two jobs in IP-intensive industries support an additional one job elsewhere in the economy. In total, 40.0 million jobs, or 27.7 percent of all jobs, were directly or indirectly attributable to the most IP-intensive industries.

Due primarily to historic losses in manufacturing jobs, overall employment in IP-intensive industries has lagged other industries during the last two decades. While employment in non-IP-intensive industries was 21.7 percent higher in 2011 than in 1990, overall IP-intensive industry employment grew 2.3 percent over this same period. Because patent-intensive industries are all in the manufacturing sector, they experienced relatively more employment losses over this period, especially during the past decade. While trademark-intensive industry employment had edged down 2.3 percent by the end of this period, copyright-intensive industries provided a sizeable employment boost, growing by 46.3 percent between 1990 and 2011.

Between 2010 and 2011, the economic recovery led to a 1.6 percent increase in direct employment in IP-intensive industries, faster than the 1.0 percent growth in non-IP-intensive industries. Growth in copyright-intensive industries (2.4 percent), patent-intensive industries (2.3 percent), and trademark-intensive industries (1.1 percent) all outpaced gains in non-IP-intensive industries.

Jobs in IP-intensive industries pay well compared to other jobs. Average weekly wages for IP-intensive industries were $1,156 in 2010 or 42 percent higher than the $815 average weekly wages in other (non-IP-intensive) private industries. This wage premium nearly doubled from 22 percent in 1990 to 42 percent by 2010. Patent- and copyright-intensive industries have seen particularly fast wage growth in recent years, with the wage premium in patent-intensive industries increasing from 66 percent in 2005 to 73 percent in 2010, and the premium in copyright-intensive industries rising from 65 percent to 77 percent.

The comparatively high wages in IP-intensive industries correspond to, on average, the completion of more years of schooling by these workers. More than 42 percent of workers aged 25 and over in these industries in 2010 were college educated, compared with 34 percent on average in non-IP-intensive industries.

Merchandise exports of IP-intensive industries totaled $775 billion in 2010, accounting for 60.7 percent of total U.S. merchandise exports.

Data on foreign trade of IP-intensive service-providing industries is limited; however, this report does find that exports of IP-intensive service-providing industries accounted for approximately 19 percent of total U.S. private services exports in 2007.

¹ National Economic Council et al. 2011, 7.

² Ibid., 11.

³ See www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/data/naics_conc/ and also www.google.com/googlebooks/uspto-trademarks.html.

⁴ Using data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Industry Productivity program, employment covers the sum of payroll jobs, self-employed persons, and unpaid family workers, and totaled 144.2 million jobs in 2010. Because the unit of measure is jobs (as opposed to persons) and because about 5 percent of all workers have more than one job, the total number of jobs is greater than the 139.1 million employed persons in 2010, as estimated from the Current Population Survey (www.bls.gov/cps).

⁵ Because several industries were found to intensively use both patents and trademarks or copyrights and trademarks, total IP-intensive industry employment is less than the sum of patent-, trademark- and copyright-intensive industry employment.

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U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Intensities Over Time: A Detailed Accounting of Industries, Government and Households

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Greenhouse gas emissions have increased markedly since the pre-industrial era and are increasing at such a rate that their concentration in the atmosphere is producing a warming influence on the global climate. In order to make well-informed decisions on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is important to understand how the different economic sectors contribute to the production of greenhouse gases, which sectors are relatively carbon dioxide (CO2) intensive, and how these patterns have evolved over time. To that end, this report analyzes energy-related CO2 emissions and intensities for 349 industries, government (federal, state and local) and Households for the 1998 to 2006 period. The 349 industries cover the entire economy, providing information on detailed subsectors within the aggregate sectors of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mining, Construction, Manufacturing, Transportation Services and All Other Services. CO2 intensities for industries and government refer to the emissions produced per billion dollars of output. CO2 intensities for households are measured by emissions per thousand households. The primary findings of the report are as follows:

1. A large number of industries in the U.S. have seen declines in emissions intensity (that is, gains in emissions efficiency) over the past decade. These improvements at the industry level have contributed significantly to the overall pattern of greater emissions efficiency in the economy.

Energy-related CO2 emissions in the U.S. increased more slowly than overall output growth during 1997 to 2007, indicating that the CO2 intensity of the economy declined.

If not for these improvements in emissions efficiency, we estimate that CO2 emissions in the U.S. would have been about 25 percent higher than actual emissions in 2007.

2. The manufacturing sector is often the focus of discussion about pollution control.

Manufacturing was responsible for about one-quarter of total CO2 emissions in 2006, down from 30 percent in 1998. It reduced its CO2 intensity over the 1998 to 2006 period.

The level of CO2 output, as well as the gain in efficiency, varies significantly within the Manufacturing sector. For example, between 1998 and 2006, chemicals had a significant emissions efficiency gain, while nonmetallic mineral products had an efficiency loss.

3. The transportation services sector, which accounts for about 15 percent of total emissions in the U.S., increased its emissions and showed only slight gains in emissions efficiency.

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The Administration is committed to fostering the development of a clean and energy-efficient economy; that is, a “green” economy. This means encouraging the development of green businesses and green products and services, which in turn will create “green jobs.”

Our results suggest that green products and services comprised 1% to 2% of the total private business economy in 2007. The lower estimate was developed using a narrow definition that included products that we found generated little debate regarding their “greenness.” The larger estimate was based on a broad definition that included products that some might argue were not green. Under the broad definition, the share of green products and services was substantially larger, but still constituted only a relatively small part of the economy.

The number of green jobs was also found to be modest, ranging from about 1.8 million jobs under the narrow definition to 2.4 million jobs under the broad definition. These jobs constituted between 1.5% and 2.0% of total private sector employment in 2007. Green products accounted for about the same share of employment in the manufacturing sector as in the services sector.

ESA analysts used publicly available data to estimate the national production of green products and services. As our nation promotes greater environmental stewardship, it is important to establish national benchmarks by which to measure progress toward a greener economy and nation. While this report does not establish an official benchmark, it outlines a process that might be used to establish such a benchmark.

In this report, a product or service was considered “green” based on whether it conserves energy and other natural resources or reduces pollution. ESA analysts applied this definition to over 22,000 product codes from the 2007 Economic Census to estimate the share of green products and services in the U. S. economy. These data cover most of the private sector economy. We utilized information from other sources when Economic Census data were not available. We compared estimates from the 2007 Economic Census to estimates from the 2002 Economic Census for manufacturing products. The analysis in this report provides a starting point for measuring future progress as the green economy grows in the United States.

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Hurricane/ Post-Tropical Storm Sandy struck the New Jersey coast on October 29, 2012, inflicting billions of dollars of damage. This report examines potential long-term economic effects of the storm in terms of losses and gains in economic activity.

This impact analysis is for all the counties in New Jersey and the 13 counties in lower New York that that were declared as disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Our findings show that most businesses faced only short-term business disruptions, with the only exception being the Travel and Tourism industry in New Jersey. We also assume that New Jersey and New York will receive the full amount of the money they estimated to repair and replace damage from the storm. Another assumption is that reconstruction spending will take four years to complete.

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The Earnings of New Hires in Manufacturing

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Manufacturing jobs, including new manufacturing jobs, continue to deserve their reputation as good jobs. We use a relatively new data source, the Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI), to analyze the earnings of new hires relative to incumbent workers in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing. We find that new hires in the manufacturing sector earn more than new hires in other industries and have done particularly well since the recession began.

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Interpreting Recent Trends in the US Auto Industry

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Contradictory news articles about the U.S. auto industry have appeared in recent days.

On the positive side:"Auto Sales Showed Powerful Gains Across the Board in June" (NYT 7/2/2013) and "A Revitalized Car Industry Cranks Up U.S. Exports" (WSJ 7/1/2013).

On the negative side, however, we have: "With Mexican auto manufacturing boom, new worries" (WP 7/1/2013).

This is a brief attempt to reconcile these competing narratives.

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Commerce Department Seeks Comments on Impact of Burdensome Federal Regulations and Construction Permitting Process on Domestic Manufacturing

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County Summary Report of Areas in New Jersey and New York Affected by Hurricane Sandy 

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Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey (NJ) on October 29, 2012. Several months after the storm, stakeholders were still assessing the damage and the long-term economic effects on the region.

To help with this effort, the Economic and Statistics Administration developed this report which provides baseline information on demographic and economic conditions in these areas. This report was requested by Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) who, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is guiding the federal effort to assist these areas in immediate and long-term recovery efforts. EDA provides these reports to state and local government officials who use them to develop a basis for justification for federal assistance while EDA uses them to help determine their distribution of grants in the disaster area.

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Broadband Availability Beyond the Rural/Urban Divide

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While it is commonly understood that broadband is less available in rural communities and more available in urban communities, a simple two-way, rural-urban comparison masks the fact that there is considerable variation in availability within these two types of communities. By assigning communities to one of five categories, it becomes clear that there is not a simple rural/urban divide. Rather, one group of rural Americans has even less broadband access than previously understood and two groups of urban Americans have more broadband than is typically identified.

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Statement from the Department of Commerce on the President’s America First Budget Blueprint

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The Second Phase Report on the Statistical Discrepancy of Merchandise Trade between the United States and China

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The Statistics Working Group, under the auspices of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, conducted a second reconciliation study to explain and quantify discrepancies in the official U.S.-China bilateral merchandise trade statistics. This is an update to a previous report prepared by the working group.

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FirstNet Partners with AT&T to Build $46.5 Billion Wireless Broadband Network for America’s First Responders

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The Geographic Concentration of Manufacturing Across the United States

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Manufacturing has been one of the major bright spots in the economic recovery of the last few years, contributing more than 25 percent of the overall growth in GDP between 2009 and 2011 and adding roughly 500,000 new jobs between the beginning of 2010 and the end of 2012. This trend is especially welcome as manufacturing jobs often provide higher wages and better benefits than non-manufacturing jobs.

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The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States

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On January 4, 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (COMPETES). Section 604 of COMPETES mandates that the Secretary of Commerce complete a study that addresses the economic competitiveness and innovative capacity of the United States. Congress directed that this report address a diverse array of topics and policy options, including tax policy; the general business climate in the U.S.; regional issues such as the role of state and local governments in higher education; barriers to setting up new firms; trade policy, including export promotion;the effectiveness of federal research and development policy; intellectual property regimes in the U.S. and abroad; the health of the manufacturing sector; and science and technology education.

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Pursuant to the requirements of the National Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 (NOHRAA), the Department of Commerce (Department) analyzed changes in oil heat prices relative to other energy sources. The report presents the relevant price data and concludes that oilheat prices did not exceed the threshold established by the Act.

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The White House Council on Women and Girls was created by President Obama in early 2009 to enhance, support and coordinate the efforts of existing programs for women and girls. When President Obama signed the Executive Order creating the Council on Women and Girls, he noted that the issues facing women today “are not just women’s issues.” When women make less than men for the same work, it impacts families who then find themselves with less income and often increased challenges in making ends meet. When a job does not offer family leave, it impacts both parents and often the entire family. When there’s no affordable child care, it hurts children who wind up in second-rate care or spending afternoons alone in front of the television set.

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Exploring The Digital Nation: Home Broadband Internet Adoption In The United States

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Household use of broadband internet service has risen dramatically during the first decade of the 21st century as the internet has become integral to the lives of most Americans. Nonetheless, not everyone uses broadband internet – either by choice or because they lack access. This report prepared jointly by the Commerce Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), explores differences in broadband Internet use among households.

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 (PERA), the Department of Commerce analyzed changes in propane prices relative to other energy sources. The report presents the relevant price data and concludes that propane prices continue to exceed the threshold established by PERA. As a result, certain activities of the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) are restricted. The Department of Commerce will conduct an analysis every 180 days, as required by the Act.

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Women-Owned Businesses in the 21st Century

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This report documents the changes in women-owned businesses over time, explores disparities in the characteristics of businesses owned by women as compared to those owned by men and discusses potential reasons for these disparities and the different outcomes that are associated with them. The focus is on proprietorships, partnerships, or any type of privately-held corporation with one or more owners. Publicly-held companies are not included.

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Estimating the Economic Effects of the Deepwater Drilling Moratorium on the Gulf Coast Economy

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The BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, situated about 50 miles off the coast of southern Louisiana, exploded on April 20, 2010, resulting in 11 deaths, 17 injuries and one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. In response, the Secretary of the Interior exercised his authority to suspend certain deepwater drilling activities. Given the uncertainty about the adequacy of existing safety regulations, the moratorium provided time to determine whether and how deepwater drilling could continue in a safe and environmentally-sound manner. The current moratorium is in effect until November 30, 2010. This report estimates the economic consequences of this moratorium in the five Gulf Coast states.

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Residential Propane Price Analysis 2006 

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 (PERA), the Department of Commerce prepared this analysis of changes in propane prices relative to other energy sources. The report presents the relevant price data and concludes that propane prices have not exceeded the threshold established by PERA.

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Residential Propane Price Analysis 2005 

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 (PERA), the Department of Commerce prepared this analysis of changes in propane prices relative to other energy sources. The report presents the relevant price data and concludes that propane prices have not exceeded the threshold established by PERA.

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A Change to Advance: A Look to Income Variability in the U.S.

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People, over time, generally experience changes in income and economic well-being. Measures such as poverty rates and median income are useful for understanding general economic trends; however, these aggregates often mask the extent of income variability experienced by individuals. Longitudinal surveys, by tracking the same households over time, allow for the study of personal income dynamics.

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After two years of retrenchment, information technology-producing industries now show signs of resuming the dynamic role they played during 1996–2000.

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U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Final Antidumping Determinations on Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain

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The second half of 2000 marked a turning point in recent economic experience and gave new urgency to questions about the nature and durability of the new economy. Answers to these questions should be clearer on the far side of the slowdown. For analysts standing in the hollow of the process, however, the challenge is still to assess developments in information technology-producing and -using industries since mid-2000 and to determine what that experience suggests about the future.

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U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Final Antidumping Determinations on Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain

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A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use Of The Internet 

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Few technologies have spread as quickly, or become so widely used, as computers and the Internet. These information technologies are rapidly becoming common fixtures of modern social and economic life, opening opportunities and new avenues for many Americans. A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet shows the rapidly growing use of new information technologies across all demographic groups and geographic regions. Not only are many more Americans using the internet and computers at home, they are also using them at work, school, and other locations for an expanding variety of purposes.