World Trade Week, 2010

Proclamation 8521 of May 12, 2010

World Trade Week, 2010

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For our Nation to compete and win in the 21st century,
we must rebuild our economy on a stronger, more
balanced foundation. Part of that effort will require
us to boost our exports, which are critical for our
long-term prosperity and which support millions of
American jobs. World Trade Week is an opportunity for
us to reaffirm the importance of trade to our Nation's
continued economic recovery and growth.

Our Nation is still emerging from an unprecedented
economic crisis. Millions of Americans have lost their
jobs and millions more remain underemployed, limited to
part-time work or odd jobs. To help them, we must do
all we can to spur job creation and restore economic
security. Producing and exporting more goods and
services is essential to strengthening our ability to
compete for customers outside our borders.

My Administration is proud to launch the National
Export Initiative, a comprehensive strategy to promote
American exports. This initiative brings senior
Government officials together with leaders from the
private sector to increase trade opportunities for
businesses of all sizes, including individual
entrepreneurs. To ensure American companies have free
and fair access to global markets, we are enforcing
existing trade agreements, addressing issues in pending
agreements, and forging new ones that protect our
businesses, workers, consumers, and environment. We are
also opening new markets and encouraging development
with trade preference programs. These steps will bring
us closer to accomplishing the ambitious goal I set in
this year's State of the Union address to double our
Nation's exports over the next five years.

As we pursue measures to safeguard our future
prosperity, we must remember that we still have the
most innovative and productive workers in the world. We
have the most dynamic and competitive economy, and we
remain the top exporter of goods and services. As other
nations and markets grow, our leadership will not be
guaranteed. Yet, our success has never been guaranteed.
It has been forged through decades of hard work,
ingenuity, optimism, and common purpose.

This week, let us renew the enduring principles that
have driven our Nation to the forefront of human
progress. With our ships, trucks, trains, planes, and
fiber optic lines, we will send our goods and services
to every corner of the globe. Together, we will make
this new century an American century yet again, and
secure a bright future for generations to come.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim May 16 through May
22, 2010, as World Trade Week. I encourage all
Americans to observe this week with events, trade
shows, and educational programs that celebrate the
benefits of trade to our Nation, American workers, and
the global economy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fourteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.