2011 State of the Union address: on Free Trade


Barack Obama: Double our exports by 2014; starting with South Korea

To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014--because the more we export, the more jobs we create here at home. Already, our exports are up. Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs here in the US. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor, Democrats and Republicans--and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible.

Before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers and promote American jobs. That's what we did with Korea, and that's what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks.

Source: 2011 State of the Union speech Jan 26, 2011

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, exports up; but not enough to double by 2014

The president set a goal of doubling exports in five years and said: "Already, our exports are up." They are, quite a bit. Monthly figures show that exports of US goods and services were running 10.5% higher than last January.

But that's still shy of the rate needed for doubling within five years, which would require an annual increase of nearly 15%, compounded. Furthermore, imports have also increased during the same period by a larger amount, resulting in a larger trade deficit.

Source: FactCheck.org on 2011 State of the Union speech Jan 25, 2011

  • The above quotations are from 2011 State of the Union address to Congress, plus the Republican Response and the Tea Party response: Jan. 25, 2011.
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Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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