US Fuel Exports Emerging as Driving Force in Obama's Goal of Doubling Exports by 2015

US Fuel Exports Emerging as Driving Force in Obama's Goal of Doubling Exports by 2015

A lead story by James Politi in the US and UK editions of the Financial Times says "The value of US fuel exports has grown faster than other goods and commodities during Barack Obama’s presidency, according to a Financial Times analysis," and that it is emerging as a driving force behind his goal to double exports by 2015. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0db6b1ca-081e-11e3-badc-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz2cQ8ZAHOG

The US became a net exporter of fuel in 2011 for the first time in two decades, as rising exports combined with slower imports. According to Census bureau export data reviewed by the FT, the value of petroleum and coal exports more than doubled.

Rayola Dougher, a senior economic adviser at the American Petroleum Institute, a powerful lobby group for the US oil and gas sector, said: “We have been a real engine of growth at a time when other industries have been languishing.”

 In January 2010, Mr Obama called for a doubling of exports within five years in an ambitious effort to reboot the US’s industrial base.
 

“When the president talks about trade, when he talks about creating middle class jobs, when he talks about turning the US economy into an economy that lasts, he usually talks about manufacturing, those are the classic American living wage jobs,” said Alan Tonelson, an economist at the US Business and Industry Council. “There’s no chance that he’s been thinking mainly about petroleum.” 

All news is not bad news when it comes to economics and trade. Let's give credit where credit is due. It was an ambitious goal on President Obama's part in 2010, and there is a way to go. But, he is working hard to turning the US economy around.