Obama pushes export initiative

March 12, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama sought Thursday to put some detail behind his lofty drive to double U.S. exports over the next five years, calling the effort imperative to putting people back to work. But doubts remain about how many net jobs his trade agenda will create — and how he will get it done.

In a speech to the Export-Import Bank conference, Obama outlined steps to flesh out his trade initiative. Among them: creating a mini-Cabinet of officials to focus on exports, seeking more financing to support trade efforts, beefing up enforcement of existing trade deals and pushing for the completion of stalled ones.

“We shouldn’t assume that our leadership is guaranteed,” Obama said. “When other markets are growing, and other nations are competing, we’ve got to get even better. ”

Obama’s trade pitch ties directly to the top concerns of Americans — the bleeding of jobs from the U.S. He promised in his State of the Union address that doubling trade over the next five years will support 2 million American jobs, a pledge he repeated Thursday.