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Enhance Job Creation

What Commerce Does:

Job creation is fundamental to our mission. American workers thrive when they are free to develop our abundant natural resources, leverage broadband, use secure digital technology, and are not burdened by excessive regulations. We create these conditions and facilitate job creation through increased exports and foreign direct investment (FDI). Exports and FDI are proven job generators. Exported goods and services supported 10.7 million well-paying U.S. jobs in 2016. In 2015, majority-owned U.S. affiliates of foreign companies directly employed 6.8 million Americans. Our work also facilitates community efforts to attract investment and use the internet to create economic opportunity.

Increase Aquaculture Production

Aquaculture is the fastest growing form of food production in the world. Marine aquaculture in the United States contributes to seafood supply, supports commercial fisheries, and has great growth potential. We will help it grow faster by reducing regulatory burden and driving aquaculture research. A strong U.S. marine aquaculture industry will serve a key role in U.S. food security and improve our trade balance with other nations.

Reduce and Streamline Regulations

Regulations that are unnecessary and burdensome are harmful to the economy. They increase the time and cost of doing business, and therefore increase prices and kill jobs. When it takes years for federal agencies to approve new plants and facilities, it takes years before people are working there. If infrastructure development is delayed, public service is reduced and access needed for private-sector growth is reduced. Accelerating the development of new manufacturing plants and equipment, and infrastructure improvements are fundamental to our mission. We will be at the forefront of federal efforts to reduce regulations and shorten the timeframe for federal review of projects.

Strengthen Domestic Commerce and the U.S. Industrial Base

To be competitive, U.S. businesses must capitalize on technology and proven best practices. Through locations across the country, the Department provides services crucial to deploying connectivity, data, and information to businesses and communities. By expanding broadband access, we facilitate e-commerce in rural areas. We provide increasing amounts of economic, scientific, and social data to drive informed business decisions. Decades of successful fisheries management will be employed to reduce America’s $14 billion seafood trade deficit. The Department strengthens and protects the U.S. manufacturing and defense industrial base to ensure economic viability and national security. Our business assistance programs help build community and regional capacity for economic development.

Increase U.S. Exports

Exporting provides clear economic benefits to businesses, workers, and communities. However, compared to other industrialized nations, U.S. firms under-export and are under-represented in foreign markets. Exports accounted for only 12 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016 compared to 16 percent for Japan, 28 percent for the United Kingdom, and 46 percent for Germany. Of the U.S. companies that do export, 58 percent exported to only one market in 2015. Strengthening export capabilities is a crucial strategy to reduce the $505 billion trade deficit our country experienced in 2016. With offices and expertise in 108 U.S. locations and 78 foreign markets, the Department is uniquely positioned to help U.S. companies overcome the challenges of exporting their goods and services.

Increase Inward Investment Into the United States

According to United Nations’ statistics on global FDI, the United States was the world’s largest recipient of foreign investment from 1985–2016. However, the U.S. share of global FDI declined from nearly 40 percent in 1999 to 24 percent in 2016. Working with economic development organizations across the country, we advocate for the United States as the world’s premier investment destination. ITA’s SelectUSA program is the only federal program dedicated to facilitating high-impact business investment into the United States.

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U.S. Department of Commerce 2018-2022 Strategic Plan 9.41 MB
Bureaus and Offices