	Background

The Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) is a cabinet-level  interagency committee chaired by the Secretary of Commerce. Limits of TPCC Authority

The Export Enhancement Act of 1992 requires that the TPCC develop and  implement an annual national export strategy that, among other things,  establishes a set of federal priorities supporting U.S. exports and   develops a plan to align federal programs with established priorities;   proposes an annual unified federal trade promotion budget. The TPCC’s National Export Strategies Do Not Identify Agencies’ Specific Goals or Use of Resources

The TPCC’s annual national export strategies have identified broad  priorities, but they have not discussed agencies’ specific export promotion  goals, such as increasing exports in a TPCC targeted market, or assessed  progress made toward achieving the committee’s broad priorities. It identified the most competitive sectors for U.S.  companies as well as regional barriers to U.S. exports. Later strategies also  discussed broad trade objectives. For example, the 1997 strategy noted that  the United States was losing market share in Eastern Europe to the EU,  but the 1998 strategy did not report on any changes in this condition. The  2002 strategy did not specifically discuss China. The  overall effect is that it is not clear whether federal export promotion  resources are being used most productively. In its 2002  strategy, the recently energized TPCC identified several key areas for  improved agency coordination, some of which address problems initially  recognized in the TPCC’s 1993 strategy, including the need for (1) cross  training agency personnel so they are knowledgeable about other agency  programs, (2) improving exporters’ access to timely and accurate trade  information, and (3) expanding outreach and trade education for new-to- export firms. Recommendations for Executive Action

To assist federal agencies in making the best use of federal export  promotion resources and to assist U.S. exporters, we recommend that the  Chairman of the TPCC ensure that its national export strategies  consistently (1) identify agencies’ specific goals within the strategies’ broad  priorities, (2) identify how agencies’ resources are allocated in support of  their specific goals, and (3) analyze progress made in addressing the  recommendations in the committee’s prior annual strategies. Many of the  export agencies were represented in this region, including USAID. Specifically,  we assessed (1) whether the committee’s strategy has established export  priorities, assessed progress made toward achieving the strategy’s  priorities, and proposed an alignment of federal resources in support of  these priorities; and (2) whether the committee has made progress in  coordinating the various agencies’ export promotion programs.
What GAO Found

Ten years ago, to coordinate the activities of the various federal agencies involved in export promotion and to ensure better delivery of services to potential exporters, Congress established the interagency Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) under the Export Enhancement Act of 1992. Among other things, the act required the committee to develop a governmentwide strategic plan that (1) establishes priorities for federal activities in support of U.S. export activities and (2) proposes the annual, united federal trade promotion budget that supports the plan. TPCC's annual national export strategies identify broad priorities for promoting U.S. trade, but they do not discuss agencies' specific goals or assess progress made. In its initial strategies, the committee identified 10 regionally dispersed priority markets for future trade promotion efforts, but it did not discuss agencies' specific goals or report later on progress made in increasing exports to these markets. Shifting to a regional approach 3 years later in its 1997 strategy, the committee identified Central and Eastern Europe as a region where U.S. government assistance to U.S. exporters would be important in increasing market share. Again the strategy did not discuss agencies' specific goals nor did later strategies report on progress made or even cover consistent topics from year to year. Without regular assessments of progress, it is not clear whether export promotion resources are being used most productively in support of the strategy. Furthermore, the committee has limited ability to align agency resources with its strategy. The committee has made modest but inconsistent progress in coordinating federal agencies' export promotion efforts. In its first national export strategy in 1993, the committee identified coordination weaknesses and recommended improvements, most of which required interagency consensus to implement. Although many of its initial recommendations were implemented during the committee's first few years, some have not been implemented--for example, the need for improved agency staff training and improved trade information services to bring clarity to the export process, as well as the need for expanded outreach and trade education for new-to-export firms.