Michigan, nation, focuses on exports

DETROIT, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- More than 25 percent of manufacturing in the state of Michigan is dependent on export business, organizers of a conference in Detroit said.

The International Export Council Conference, an annual event sponsored by the Department of Commerce and scheduled to convene in both Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, this year, is "a real coup for our region," Terry Kalley, chairman of the Detroit Export Council, told The Detroit News in a story published Saturday.

"Increased exports and expanded international trade are crucial elements in restoring Michigan and national economy and creating high paying jobs we need," he said.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Lock, Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Fred Hochberg, chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, are scheduled to speak at the four-day conference, which begins Sunday.

Exports, nationally, are a $1.6 trillion enterprise. For Michigan, exports total about $33 billion per year, the News reported.

In his State of the Union address in this year, President Barack Obama said the United States should aim for doubling its exports within the next five years.