Dodging wind-blown cloudbursts as he toured the Port of Tacoma on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner preached the gospel of exports to the press and local officials.
Geithner – who also visited The Boeing Co.’s Renton 737 assembly plant, talked to community bankers and met with corporate chiefs at Microsoft’s annual CEO Summit – said the U.S. must double its exports if it is to continue to hold its place in the world economy.
The economic recovery, Geithner said, in a speech at the Port of Tacoma, will be driven by the private sector, by private investments and by exports of high-tech and manufactured goods. Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire accompanied Geithner on his tour.
He delivered his message to a state that already knows the importance of exporting. On a per capita basis Washington exports more goods than any state in the country.
The Obama administration, he said, has proposed a program of tax incentives and credits designed to give American companies, particularly small businesses, the muscle to compete overseas. That program includes cutting capital gains taxes to zero for small businesses and a new lending fund to allow community banks to make more loans to local businesses.
“This is important because American companies are now starting to see strong increases in orders from businesses here and around the world,” he said. “And to be able to expand production to meet those orders, they need to be able to access credit and capital.”
In a driving rain, Geithner and his entourage saw construction machinery being prepared for shipment to China and a parade of containers loaded with export merchandise.
Geithner said exports are already beginning to improve. A few years ago, containers that came through the Port of Tacoma loaded with imports were returning to Asia empty, he said.
“Now, more of those containers are going back full because now the world is buying more American goods,” he said. “This is very good for America; it’s good for Washington state; it’s good for Tacoma. Exports are now up 20 percent over the past year.”
The treasury secretary said he and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will soon travel to China to press the U.S. case for fairer treatment of U.S. goods.
Geithner said a new Chinese initiative to encourage innovation in that country could put U.S. goods at a disadvantage.
That program would give goods the Chinese government designates as showing “indigenous innovation” preference in government procurement. But that same program could leave U.S. goods unable to compete. Geithner said he and Clinton will seek assurances that the new program will not put American manufacturers in a secondary position.
John Gillie: 253-597-8663
john.gillie@thenewstribune.com
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