Ambassador Kirk is in Austin today meeting with local business leaders, ranchers, and farmers to discuss how the Obama Administration’s trade initiatives will help boost Texas’ economy.
Ambassador Kirk co-hosted a roundtable with Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples. Farmers and ranchers from Travis County and across Central Texas joined the roundtable to discuss their successes, challenges, and goals related to selling agricultural goods to customers around the world. Ambassador Kirk shared how the U.S.-Korea trade agreement will increase export opportunities and support jobs on Texas farms and ranches. Texas’s agricultural exports already support roughly 38,000 jobs, and the U.S.-Korea trade agreement will help increase Texan exports even further. The U.S.-Korea trade agreement will provide America’s farmers, food processors, and the businesses they support with improved access to Korea’s $1 trillion economy and 49 million hungry consumers. Ambassador Kirk also emphasized the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in providing new market opportunities for Texas producers exporting to the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region.
After the roundtable, Ambassador Kirk met with business leaders at the Austin Chamber of Commerce and discussed ways to help Texas businesses increase exports in support of local jobs. Outreach to and feedback from local business leaders are critical elements of President Obama’s National Export Initiative – which aims to double exports by 2014 in support of two million American jobs.
