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I. THE COMMERCE MISSION STATEMENT: THEME 1

The Department of Commerce promotes job creation, economic growth, sustainable development, and improved living standards for all Americans, by working in partnership with business, universities, communities, and workers, to:

1. Build for the future and promote U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace, by strengthening and safeguarding the nation's economic infrastructure.

This Mission Statement includes all activities of the Department of Commerce. Activities under Theme 1, highlighted in bold type above, will be discussed in this portion of the Strategic Plan.

II. THEME 1 AND THE COMMERCE MISSION STATEMENT

The Department of Commerce is committed to opening and expanding foreign markets for U.S. goods and services and to improving America's export performance. The DOC also is committed to improving coordination and planning among Federal export promotion programs and to reducing or eliminating unnecessary obstacles to private sector exports. In addition, Commerce actively promotes initiatives supporting development of the National Information Infrastructure, expansion of economic development and planning assistance to distressed areas, and expedited technology transfer to private sector users.

But the activities conducted or supported by the Department of Commerce under Theme 1 are not confined to domestic or international trade (as comprehensive as that mandate may be). Commerce's true focus is the nation's economic infrastructure -- the farms, factories, businesses, and universities that make up our economy and provide jobs in this country. Commerce programs combine to result directly in job creation and economic efficiency -- through promoting trade, developing and protecting technological advances in production and communication -- and in supporting the ways, and even the places, where those jobs are created by providing needed information, physical resources, and environmental predictions.

The activities conducted by Commerce under Theme 1 create jobs in all sectors of our economy. The benefits from job creation in the exporting sectors of the economy are especially valuable because they strengthen our competitive position in the world marketplace. Also, there is substantial evidence which indicates that in many exporting industries, the jobs created are significantly higher paying than some non-exporting sector jobs. We know that high-tech exporting companies create 36% more jobs, and that these jobs have 16% higher wages, than companies that do not use advanced technologies and that don't export. This is particularly important to improving national economic well-being and living standards.

III. BUREAU SUPPORT OF STRATEGIC THEME 1

Many of the bureaus of the Commerce Department contain programs that work independently or together to support this Strategic Theme. Some of the planned actions we are taking in support of Theme 1 are:

o In coordination with the Administration and Congress, we will work with the World Trade Organization to ensure its effective implementation, to enforce full and fair consideration of U. S. economic and trade interests, and to ensure free and fair trading practices under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

o We will promote U.S. export growth through the implementation of the Administration's National Export Strategy, consistent with national security and U.S. foreign policy objectives, and will enhance cooperation with our partnership organizations in order that U.S. businesses can benefit from global business opportunities and increase American jobs. We will maintain a comprehensive platform of export promotion services accessible throughout the U.S. and abroad. U.S. firms and other partners can depend on this platform to establish and expand their presence in overseas markets. Through trade negotiations and case-by-case advocacy, we will ensure a "level playing field" for U.S. firms and combat predatory commercial practices.

o In parallel to this, we will work with the White House and other cabinet departments to streamline and liberalize the U.S. export control system, while being mindful of the dual use nature of commercial technologies. We will enhance both export growth opportunities and the effective enforcement of export controls through cooperation with the independent states of the former Soviet Union, the Baltics, and Central Europe.

o Improved economic and demographic statistics are essential to sound business forecasting, and to an understanding of the strength and direction of the Nation's economy. Commerce is at the forefront of national efforts to improve these statistics and make them as timely and responsive to customer needs as possible.

o Although it is conducted only once every ten years, the decadal Census has such major and ongoing implications for so many government, business and economic analysis and decisions that it cannot be considered simply a one-time event. The 2000 Census will be conducted with an effort to be as accurate, open, and user-friendly as possible.

o While many American communities are economically healthy, a large number have undergone stress that results from factors beyond local control. Making strategic economic investments in the Nation's distressed communities is one of Commerce's most effective strategies of direct assistance. In areas of chronically high unemployment, where a catalyst is essential to spark or attract local private investment, where natural disasters or sudden job losses have caused more dislocation than local resources can redress, or where military bases have been closed (or threatened with closing), Commerce helps the communities revive, stabilize, and sustain their local economies by fostering the growth of job-creating businesses and investment.

o Improving opportunities for minority-owned businesses helps strengthen an underutilized sector of the American economy. In the face of global completion, America cannot afford to waste the entrepreneurial talents of any of its citizens. Facilitating the opportunities for minority-owned businesses to compete in the mainstream economy is an essential part of the Commerce mission.

o We will lead development of the Administration's civilian technology policies, goals and strategies, including an emphasis on developing long-term, high-risk research and development partnerships with the private sector, assisting in advancing our technological and information infrastructure, protecting intellectual property rights, and improving deployment of technology to ensure that U.S. firms and workers remain world leaders in the highly competitive global marketplace.

o Working with U.S. industry to develop and apply technology, measurement and standards, has been a "growth area" for Commerce. Commerce supports technology development -- especially through grants for high-risk, cutting edge technologies -- which can lead directly to breakthroughs in innovative manufacturing and production methods. Technology has been clearly seen as more than the wave of the future -- it is simply the basic vehicle through which jobs will be created and the economy will grow. As much as anything else in this first Theme, technological advances create jobs and enable the economic infrastructure to thrive.

o Formulating domestic and international telecommunications policies, and conducting efficient spectrum planning, enables our nation to use telecommunications resources effectively -- an important function in a global marketplace that depends increasingly on telecommunications technology.

o Providing environmental predictions for the protection of life and property is a service critical to a number of basic American industries -- agricultural, transportation, construction, insurance -- as well as to everyday community life. This protection is essential to assuring that our economic infrastructure remains safe, intact, and capable of the highest levels of output.

o There is also a strong linkage between the economic necessity for environmental prediction and stewardship, and the scientific necessity. Societal and economic decisions need to be strongly coupled with a comprehensive understanding of the environment. A major part of Commerce's mission is to ensure sustainable economic opportunities, and this requires managing the Nation's marine and coastal resources and predicting how changes in the Earth's environment will affect these resources.

o Accurate charts and modern navigation systems are required for safe and efficient maritime and air transport. Commerce collects, processes and distributes such information in support of national, commercial and individual needs. The Department is working to revolutionize U.S. marine and air navigation, mapping and surveying, and to provide a precise satellite-derived reference system as the basis for the nation's 21st century positioning needs.

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