Title:
Obama Looks to Exports, Hoping to Create Jobs
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
The International Monetary Fund has raised its
prediction for world economic growth to four and
six-tenths percent this year. That is a
half-percentage point higher than the estimate in
April. The IMF credited expansion in Asia and
growing demand in the United States. But the
lender's chief economist also warned that "downside
risks have risen sharply." President Obama talked
about the importance of building exports as a way to
create jobs and economic growth at home. He said:
"American exports grew almost seventeen percent over
the first four months of this year, compared to the
same period last year. Part of this, of course, is
due to the global recovery. But we are also moving
forward on improving conditions for America's
exporters." Mr. Obama re-launched the President's
Export Council. The group includes business and
labor leaders who will advise on trade issues. The
government reported that private employers added
only eighty-three thousand jobs in June.
Unemployment remains high even after six months of
job growth. As the president pointed out, there are
still five unemployed workers for each job opening.
Export-related jobs, he said, pay fifteen percent
more than average. In two thousand eight, American
exports supported almost seven percent of all jobs,
including one-third of jobs in manufacturing. In
January, in his State of the Union speech, President
Obama promised to double exports in five years. In
his comments in July, he said the United States must
work to remove trade barriers and open new markets.
Mr. Obama said the United States offers some of the
world's lowest barriers to trade -- and expects free
and fair access to other countries in return.In late
June, the World Trade Organization ruled that Airbus
received billions in illegal European aid. The
ruling was a victory for its American competitor
Boeing. American lawmakers have also long complained
that China suppresses the value of the yuan to lower
the price of its exports. China recently promised to
let the yuan trade more freely against the dollar.
China passed Germany to become the world's top
exporting country last year. The United States was
third. Some American companies have been doing well
in developing markets. For the first time, General
Motors announced higher sales in China, the world's
largest car market, than in the United States.And
that's the VOA Special English Economics Report.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
