Ambassador Kirk attended a roundtable event with Congressman Gerald Connolly (VA-11) in Vienna, Virginia on Monday. Local businesses discussed the benefits of trade for their companies and the local and regional economy. Ambassador Kirk joined local business leaders such as Dr. Jay Kim, Chairman and CEO of JWK Corporation, William Hwang, President of Northern Virginia Korean Community, and Todd House, of Micron Technology, Inc. Representatives from the Fairfax County and Prince William Chambers of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Technology Council, Google, were in attendance too.
Small- and medium-sized businesses are the primary source of jobs for Americans and account for the largest group of U.S. exporters. Fifteen percent of Virginia manufacturing workers, which account for three percent of all private sector employment, depend on exports for their jobs. Opening new markets and enforcing America’s trade agreements, in conjunction with the National Export Initiative, will help to double U.S. exports over the next five years and support as many as two million additional American jobs. USTR is working to help Virginia businesses increase their exports and help America’s economic recovery.
