White House Unveils Plan to Double U.S. Exports

The administration on Thursday unveiled its new strategy to make good on President Obama’s promise to double American exports in the next five years. The approach included pledges to pursue more trade agreements, increase pressure on trading partners to open markets and the creation of an export promotion cabinet.

But in announcing the new strategy, the commerce secretary, Gary Locke, did not say when the administration might send Congress three completed free-trade accords — with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Many trade specialists say that is essential to prod other countries to negotiate with the United States. But the move is likely to cause a rift with Mr. Obama’s liberal supporters in the Democratic Party, as well as free-trade opponents in the Republican Party.

Still, many trade specialists nonetheless welcomed the new strategy, particularly, they said, because it was the first time that the Obama administration had embraced trade liberalization vigorously.

“I’m delighted that after a long period of silence, they seem to have found their voice on the importance of trade liberalization for American prosperity,” said Daniel M. Price, a former international economics adviser to President George W. Bush. He cautioned that unless the administration moved forward on the existing trade pacts, other countries would not bother to negotiate new agreements. “Why would future partners think their agreements will get beyond mere language?”

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told a House budget hearing on Wednesday that the administration “absolutely” planned to make passage of the three trade pacts part of the new export strategy this year. “It’s not just that,” Mr. Geithner said. “We want to be in the game in Asia as they move to negotiate new agreements there.”

When Mr. Obama announced during his State of the Union speech last week that he wanted to double exports, he praised the idea of forging stronger trade ties with Panama, Colombia and Korea. But pointedly stopped short of urging lawmakers to approve the deals, which had been signed by Mr. Bush. Some Democrats in Congress have linked the Colombia accord to violence against trade unionists, and some lawmakers from the Midwest on both sides of the aisle complain that South Korea has not done enough to open up its markets to American cars.

In a speech Thursday morning at the National Press Club, Mr. Locke promised that the new export program would “correct an economic blind spot that has allowed other countries to chip away at America’s international competitiveness.”

Administration officials said the export initiative would provide more financing for export promotion and would identify markets for fast-growing areas like green energy and environmental goods and services, health care and biotechnology.

Mr. Locke promised that from now on, export promotion would have “focused attention from the president and his cabinet.”

The administration will also form an export promotion cabinet — to be made up of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Ron Kirk, the United States trade representative; Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Mr. Locke.

Since taking office a year ago, Mr. Obama had steered clear of any trade moves that could alienate Democrats, but he has also been praised by free-trade proponents who say that he did not provoke any trade wars or adopt any overtly protectionist policies, often the first refuge of leaders in an economic downturn.

“The creation of an export promotion cabinet will be helpful if it focuses political attention on supporting U.S. exports and opening markets to U.S. goods and services,” said Mr. Price, who is now a partner at the law firm Sidley Austin.

But, he added, “rearranging chairs around a table, or changing the name of the table, seldom changes results.”