In the State of the Union address Jan. 27, 2010, President Barack Obama listed international trade as one of his top priorities for expanding the U.S. economy. “We need to export more of our goods. Because the more products we make and sell to other countries, the more jobs we support right here in America,� he said as he issued the challenge to double U.S. exports over the next five years, with specific focus on helping ‘farmers and small businesses increase their exports.
President Obama emphasized the importance of ‘seeking new markets aggressively,’ in order to create U.S. jobs. He pledged to pursue the Doha trade agreement and to strengthen trade relations with key partners, including South Korea, Panama and Colombia. “It was encouraging to hear President Obama specifically address the immediate need to increase exports in order to stimulate further economic growth. The President mentioned the importance of exports to U.S. farmers. Exports of agricultural commodities will be vital to the economic growth of rural America, the entire country and will also help mitigate global hunger,� said U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Thomas C. Dorr. “I hope the President’s comments are an indication that the Administration will urge Congress to pass pending free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea.� In his address, the President also noted the importance of building and adding to the existing renewable fuels infrastructure in the United States, saying, “America must be that nation,� who leads the way for a clean energy global economy. In Iowa, for example, the ethanol industry currently boosts the economy with more than 70,000 jobs and state tax revenues of $532 million. “The 30 year-old renewable fuels industry in Iowa is critical to our agricultural sector, not only through the creation of a homegrown fuel source, but also through dried distiller’s grains fed to livestock,� said Roger Zylstra, a corn grower and livestock producer from central Iowa and a board member of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. “As we look to the future of renewable fuels, we need to be certain that corn-based ethanol is regarded as a sustainable, environmentally friendly, and economically driven fuel source.�