National Export Strategy 2002 - International Trade Administration ...

Unlocking America’s Potential
Companies rarely restrict their
global activity to exporting. Many
firms that currently export also
engage in foreign investment to
enhance their ability to sell goods
and services into the host country.
In some cases, investment
precedes the actual exporting. In
other cases, investment is made to
support export sales as in the case
of establishing a sales or service
office in the target market. These
firms frequently need assistance
with the international investment
part of their business and seek
help from the U.S. Government.
They report that limiting
assistance to purely export-related
activities does not reflect the
reality of the way business is done
and note that most other
countries offer assistance in both
exporting and investment in order
to enhance the global
competitiveness of their
companies. Among mediumsized
exporters, the survey found
that 27 percent do some
manufacturing in foreign
countries, and 55 percent of them
source components and/or
products in foreign countries
(Chart 3).
In voicing these issues in focus
groups and during the TPCC
survey, the exporters often cite
practices of other industrial
countries that appear to take a
more coordinated—and often
more strategic—approach to
trade promotion. U.S. firms often feel disadvantaged when confronted with strong
international competitors that are backed by aggressive assistance from their
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