WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Exports have been "an economic blind spot" for the United States government, allowing other countries to chip away at America's international competitiveness, said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Thursday.
In a speech at the National Press Club, Locke said expanding exports is now "front and center" for the Obama administration, echoing the president who called for a doubling of American exports over the next five years in the State of the Union speech last week.
Locke said less than one-percent of America's 30 million companies export at the moment.
The commerce secretary said the White House would not focus on one sector at the expense of others. Doubling exports is "an aggregate goal," he said.
