Good event on Tuesday at the Racine, Wisc., plant of Case New Holland. From the company’s news release, “CNH Hosts Racine Visit of US Export-Import Bank Chairman“:

Case New Holland (CNH) today hosted the Chairman of The U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), Fred Hochberg, at its Racine, WI tractor plant, where 40% of its manufactured tractors were exported in 2009.

Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States and its mission is to assist in financing the export of U.S. goods and services to international markets. For more than 70 years it has supported over $400 billion of U.S. exports, primarily to developing markets worldwide. In 2009, the Bank experienced its best year ever as it provided over $21 billion in support for U.S. businesses and this year it is already well ahead of that number having tripled its volume of activity in the first quarter.

CNH CEO Harold Boyanovsky highlighted the business significance of the event, “CNH already exports over 25% of the machines it produces in the U.S. and with the help of Ex-Im Bank we aim to increase our international business and, with that, create new U.S. jobs — both at CNH and at our supplier-partners around the country.”

• Racine Journal-Times, “Export-Import Bank chairman pushes U.S. sales abroad“
• Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “Export banker visits Racine plant”

WisBusiness.com also reported on an export seminar at the UW-Madison School of Business where Hochberg and U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) spoke.

By the way, the Export Import Bank’s annual conference is March 10-12 in Washington. It’s always a good event.

The National Association and other major business and international trade groups have written the National Economic Council and the National Security Council detailing serious problems with two bills to impose global sanctions in an effort to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons technology.

Worthy goal, but an overreaching and damaging approach. Excerpt from the letter:

The undersigned business organizations are profoundly concerned that current legislative proposals to expand U.S. sanctions on Iran (H.R. 2194 and S. 2799) would significantly undermine the U.S. national interest. While we agree that preventing Iran from developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons is an urgent U.S. national security objective, the unilateral, extraterritorial, and overly broad approach of these bills would undercut rather than advance this critical objective.

The proposed sanctions would incite economic, diplomatic, and legal conflicts with U.S. allies
and could frustrate joint action against Iran. They could prohibit any U.S. company from transacting routine business with critical partners from around the globe even if these transactions have no bearing on business with Iran. These provisions could encompass a very large portion of the global trade community with consequences that in our view have not been adequately assessed.

The proposals could have a large impact on the U.S. Export-Import Bank, precluding it from
partnering with counterpart agencies abroad to co-finance U.S. exports that have no relation to Iran’s energy sector. A significant portion of the bank’s portfolio could be impacted, compromising its ability to boost U.S. exports.

For links to the bills, click H.R. 2194 and S. 2799.

Other signers are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National Foreign Trade Council, Emergency Committee for American Trade, USA*Engage, U.S. Council for International Business, and the Coalition for Employment through Exports.

See also Politico, Laura Rozen’s blog.

UPDATE (10:40 a.m.): Reuters also reports, “U.S. business groups warned the White House on Tuesday that congressional plans to expand U.S. sanctions on Iran threaten to significantly undermine U.S. economic and security interests.”

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Dennis F. Hightower was in Detroit Friday, speaking at the “ExportsLive! Real Deals—Real Profits” event in town — one in eight city stops for the program organized by the Export-Import Bank. From the Commerce news release:

“Exports are already a growing and substantial part of the U.S. economy and account for almost 13 percent of our GDP and over six million manufacturing jobs alone,” said Hightower.

“We want to ensure that American companies, especially the small- and mid-sized firms that account for over half of all new jobs, have fair and frequent access to foreign markets.”

In 2008, Commerce’s Commercial Service worked with nearly 24,000 active clients to help them achieve their export goals.

For example, in early 2009, the Commercial Service staff helped counsel MedArray on its first export sale to Cranfield University in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, MedArray has successfully exported to Australia, Canada, France and South Africa.

MedArray’s website is here, www.permselect.com. The company manufactures and develops membrane hollow fibers using proprietary forming techniques.

From The Washington Post, “Jobs summit underscores dilemma“:

Obama says he does not have the money for the plan many of his liberal supporters say packs the biggest employment punch — direct federal investment in job creation. Instead, he came close to embracing a to-do list for the private sector that sounded rather familiar: weatherization, small-business incentives, regulatory and other help for exporters, and tax credits for employers who hire new workers.

Obama said the proposals could create jobs immediately, while providing long-term benefit at a relatively small expense to the federal government. “Overall, we generated a lot of important ideas,” he said. “Some of them, I think, can translate immediately into administration plans and, potentially, legislation.”

Regulatory and other help for exporters? U.S. Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg co-chaired one of the break-out sessions, “Expanding Job Opportunities for America’s Workers Through Exports,” and the NAM believes the Eximbank is an important, effective supporter of private-sector exporters. Indeed, the head of one company that works effectively with the Eximbank is quoted in the Post story. Air Tractor of Olney, Texas, a manufacturer of ag planes (for purposes like spraying and seeding), has been featured as an Eximbank success story as it reaches into South American markets. (PPT slide from Eximbank’s 2009 conference.)

David Ickert, a senior executive of Air Tractor, a Texas firm that manufactures planes used in agriculture and fire suppression, said he would like to see the administration do more to free up financing for export-oriented firms.

“Exporting is one of the areas that has a lot more potential,” he said. “It can create jobs and does not cost a lot of money to fund. There just has not been enough attention paid to it from a policy standpoint.

Right!

The lack of attention — or rather, effort — has also been a problem with the three free trade agreements still pending which, if enacted, would quickly lower trade barriers to U.S. exporters. The White House should lead its export-related jobs creation by demanding Congressional approval of the FTAs with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

The testimony has been posted from yesterday’s Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing, “A World of Opportunity: Promoting Export Success for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses,” and the committee also has a nice selection of quotes here.

From Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who chaired the hearing by the Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion: “Exporting is literally a world of opportunity. Over 95 percent of the world’s customers are located outside the United States. Increasing our exports will mean more business, more jobs and more growth for the American economy.”

And from the manufacturer who testified, Tom J. Wollin, Director of International and Government Sales, Mattracks, Inc.,* of Karlstad, Minn.:

There are roadblocks for U.S. companies, big and small, when they export products internationally. Tariffs, duties, and value-added taxes can make the costs of U.S. products extremely prohibitive. For example, an American product that has a dealer cost of $35,000 when it leaves our shores can have a final cost reaching $60,000 to $70,000 when it reached its destination! U.S. innovation and product quality can overcome many obstacles, but a doubling in price can be crippling. The removal of these types of trade barriers are also needed to ensure new and continued sales growth internationally.

That’s a critical point. For all the many good and helpful government programs to promote manufacturing exports, sales must be cost-competitive. That’s why Congress’ resistance to enacting the pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea is so discouraging. By ratifying the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, for example, Congress could quickly lower costs of U.S. exports to that country by an average of 14 percent.

* A plug for Mattracks — What a great product! A “rubber-track conversion system [that ] transforms most 4×4 vehicles into a true all-terrain vehicle equipped with rubber tracks that will go almost anywhere and bring you back!”

Promoting exports for smaller-sized companies has been a theme this week, and it’s one we fully endorse. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk yesterday announced that the USTR was going to focus more efforts on exporting for small- and medium-sized firms (see also Frank Vargo’s post).

Meanwhile, Baltimore manufacturer Drew Greenblat is showing exactly how it’s done.

The next welcome development comes from the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion, a hearing that starts at 2:30 p.m. Eastern today, “A World of Opportunity: Promoting Export Success for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.”

Chaired by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the hearing features the following witnesses:

• Rochelle Lipsitz, Acting Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion and Director General of the United States Foreign Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Alice Albright, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, the U.S. Export-Import Bank
• Tom J. Wollin, Director of International and Government Sales, Mattracks, Inc. of Karlstad, Minn.
• Liz J. Reilly, Director of TradeRoots, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Brad Pierce, President, Restaurant Equipment World, Orlando, Fla.

Excellent topics, exports and opportunities. The Commerce Committee will be webcasting the hearing at http://www.senate.commerce.gov