Video: Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sanchez at NDN

On Tuesday, April 26, NDN hosted Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs Francisco J Sanchez. Sanchez was joined by NDN Globalization Initiative Chair and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs Dr. Robert Shapiro.

Sanchez discussed the administration-wide effort to promote exports and conduct commercial diplomacy at every level of the American government. With only one percent of American companies engaged in exporting, Sanchez argued that American business can no longer afford to focus on just the domestic market. Instead, Sanchez said business must think globally and look to export to some of the fastest growing markets in the world, as nearly 87 percent of the growth in the world over the next five years will happen outside the US.

In particular, Sanchez focused on how the administration is working to expand market access by reducing barriers for American companies. To that end, he cited recent progress on the Korea, Colombia, and Panama FTAs. He also engaged in dialogue with Dr. Shapiro on matters ranging from collecting data on best practices in exporting to the Doha Round.