Made In America: Exporting Globally, and Creating Jobs

It is 1619, on the West Coast of Africa. A large slave ship is anchored off shore, as thousands of captured Africans, shackled, and tethered together, are feeling confused, and foreboding, on the shores of the African coastline. A young African male, about 18 years of age, considered to be next in line, for king of his tribe, now waits his fate; he will never see his family again, nor ascend to his rightful position on the throne. Less than two months later, he, and hundreds of other captured Africans, will arrive at one of the new colonies as slaves. In the 17th century, and up until the mid-19th century, tobacco, sugar cane, and cotton specifically, grown and produced by slave labor, were most likely, the first “Made in America” products exported to Europe, and nearby established South American, and Caribbean countries. At the time, there were no government agencies that oversaw regulatory policies necessary for promoting, competing, and enforcing trade laws. It would be over three hundred and fifty years, one hundred and fifteen years after slavery was abolished, and sixty-seven years after the Department of Commerce and Labor was formed, that such an agency, the International Trade Administration would be formed.

Today, despite some difficulties a few United States Industries may face exporting their products, and services to the global marketplace; ultimately using the benefits provided by the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, can assist U.S. manufacturers and businesses. The United States is the largest trading country in the world; its exported goods include electrical machinery, software, financial services, appliances, road vehicles, office machines, and cereals; the production of these goods requires many U.S. factories, farms, and manufacturers. The major trading partners of the United States are Canada, Japan, Mexico, and countries in the European Union.

The United States exports many goods to other countries, including wheat, corn, soybeans, tobacco, automobiles, and chemicals. Exports are the opposite of imports, which are goods and services a country purchases from international sources. The exchange of exports and imports is the branch of economics known as international trade. For most countries, international trade selling exports abroad and buying imports from other countries makes up a significant portion of the gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all the goods produced within a country in a certain period of time. Thus, the amount that a country exports and imports plays a crucial role in that nation's overall economic health.

When a country has an established trading system, its exports to other countries can make up a significant portion of its manufacturing and production base. The United States is the largest trading country in the world; its exported goods include electrical machinery, software, financial services, appliances, road vehicles, office machines, and cereals; the production of these goods requires many U.S. factories, farms, and manufacturers. The major trading partners of the United States are Canada, Japan, Mexico, and countries in the European Union.

The value of exports is closely tied ...