Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker participated in a roundtable discussion about how trade benefits the communities in which these companies operate and these businesses leaders live. She called on business executives to do what she called “painting the brush strokes of each individual portrait” with their neighbors, customers, and employees to make the case to them that trade is not only a global and national priority – it is also a local opportunity.When business stories such as Inficon’s - an innovative company of 250 employees in Syracuse, New York that exports instrumentation -  are told, it paints the picture that trade does indeed impact the lives and livelihoods of citizens and their communities.

Ninety-five percent of the world’s customers live beyond U.S. borders. Secretary Pritzker is leading the charge to make exporting a larger part of the DNA of all American businesses. Key to achieving this goal and at the top of the Administration’s trade agenda is passage of Trade Promotion Authority, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic-Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP).  Once completed, TPP is expected to make it easier to sell American products and services to more than 40 percent of global GDP.  T-TIP will cover nations that account for nearly half of the global economy and nearly a third of world trade flows. 

In 2013 exports reached an all-time high of $2.3 trillion with 2014 expected to surpass that record. Trade is a gateway for American businesses to create jobs, grow the economy and bring the markets of the world to the doorsteps of small, medium, and large businesses. The Commerce Department is committed to expanding the global footprint of American businesses and keeping America open for business.