Brookings: U.S. Metro Areas Need Exports Push

Wall Street Journal (Reddy) - The Obama administration wants to double U.S. exports in five years. But most of the nation’s metropolitan areas aren’t properly equipped to ramp up export sales, says a new Brookings Institution report.

...Like many other studies, the Brookings report to be released Monday says exports can be a key source of U.S. growth and job creation. And it concludes that the federal government needs to push harder on negotiations around exchange rates, trade agreements and enforcement of existing trade laws.

But it also offers recommendations specific to local and regional concerns: 1) Federal and state governments should give metro areas support on export promotion, innovation through research and development, freight planning and data-collection policies. 2) Metro leaders must improve their exporting abilities and learn from the few metro areas that actually developed and implemented successful export strategies.

The report quantifies for the first time the level of export production (in both goods and services) in the top 100 U.S. metro areas, along with profiles for each area showing key industry sectors for exports and growth rates.