Top Obama administration officials visit Memphis to push exports

The Commercial Appeal
Oct 13, 2010
By Toby Sells

The American economy needs to get moving, and moving goods overseas is one solution brought to Memphis Wednesday by two of President Barack Obama's Cabinet members. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk were here Tuesday and Wednesday spreading the word about Obama's National Export Initiative, a job-building program aimed at helping U.S. companies sell more goods in foreign markets. "For our economy to return to full health, we need to focus on exports as a part of the strategy," Locke said. "The more you export, the more you produce. The more you produce, the more people you hire." Locke said half of the GDP growth in the U.S. in the past four quarters can be attributed to exports. Overseas sales of manufactured goods are up 22 percent over last year, Kirk said, and U.S. agriculture has a $30 billion global trade surplus, the second-highest in U.S. history. Locke and Kirk spoke to a group of Memphis business and community leaders at Smith and Nephew's Global Distribution Center, close to Memphis International Airport. The event was organized by the Greater Memphis Chamber Joe DeVivo, president of Memphis-based Smith and Nephew Orthopaedics, said 50 percent of the products in the distribution facility would be exported. That's the good news. The bad news: The trade surplus for the American medical device industry has shrunk from $6 billion in 2005 to $3 billion this year, he said. Chris Suhoza, vice president of solutions for FedEx, said the company is supporting Obama's export initiative by helping its customers that already export to ship more goods to more countries. He said FedEx has already registered 80 companies in the program. David Spann, director of the Memphis U.S. Export Assistance Center, said his center has picked up one or two new clients each week for the past three years. The government office helps companies find markets and business partners overseas. "They come to me at all different levels of readiness (to export)," Spann said. "It takes about two or three years for a company who is just (preparing to export) to really convert." He said exports from Memphis have grown by $1 billion each year since 2005. The city's main exports have been medical equipment, aircraft parts, computers, building materials and products and automotive parts, Spann said. Locke and Kirk began their Memphis push with a late-night tour Tuesday of FedEx's facilities. Company officials explained the company's global distribution network and gave the pair tours of the Global Operations Center and the FedEx SuperHub. The Cabinet members also virtually practiced touch-and-go landings at Memphis International Airport in a FedEx flight simulator. "FedEx is probably as regular a customer as we have in that vernacular of the (U.S. Department of Commerce) or the (U.S. Trade Representative's office)," said Kirk as he toured FedEx Tuesday night. "They are integrated and embedded in international commerce. It's their lifeblood." -- Toby Sells: 529-2742