Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker delivered the opening remarks at a meeting of the President’s Export Council (PEC). The PEC serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade and meets regularly to discuss new recommendations for resolving trade-related challenges among the business, industrial, agricultural, labor and government sectors.

In front of public and private sector leaders, Secretary Pritzker discussed the important role that the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the 2016 Hannover Messe will play in promoting American competitiveness. For the first time, the United States is the official partner country for the 2016 Hannover Messe, the world’s largest trade fair for industrial technology.

Remarks as Prepared For Delivery

Thank you, Ursula, for your kind introduction. I am excited to continue our work together in your new capacity as Chair of the President’s Export Council. We will all benefit from your leadership and tenacity.

I also want to acknowledge our friend and colleague Pat Woertz, who is attending her final PEC meeting today. Pat, you have served as a committed and valued member of President Obama’s PEC since the beginning.  You were by our side on last year’s fact finding mission, and you and your team have made significant contributions to the work of this Council, particularly on domestic infrastructure investment and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Thank you for your dedicated service. You will be missed.

Throughout this Administration, the President’s Export Council has been a leading contributor to our country’s international trade agenda.  Your actions – which include submitting nearly 60 letters of recommendation – have shaped many of this Administration’s key accomplishments, including: securing Trade Promotion Authority; implementing the “single window” system to streamline the export and import process; and building a more transparent and efficient export control system.

As we enter our final year, this Administration remains laser-focused on achieving as many of our remaining shared goals as possible. Success, as you note in your latest set of recommendations, will require prioritization. To that end, the biggest accomplishment we can achieve in the next year is passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Thank you for your work on Trade Promotion Authority. Now we need your vocal support for the TPP. This Administration’s trade team has done an extraordinary job negotiating an agreement that will level the playing field for American workers and businesses, leading to more Made-in-America exports and more higher-paying jobs here at home. Now, we must make the business case for TPP to Members of Congress and the American public.

Working closely with my colleague Mike Froman and his team, our Department has released more than 60 targeted fact sheets and reports detailing the benefits TPP could have for American companies. We have conducted outreach to over 500 congressional offices, and Commerce officials will continue to fly around the country to talk about the benefits of the agreement.

Our March 2016 fact finding mission to Japan and Vietnam – two key TPP markets – will be an important opportunity to learn more about the opportunities the agreement would create for American companies once it enters into force.

Before I turn it back over to Ursula, I want to briefly highlight another top priority for our Administration: Hannover Messe, the largest industrial technology trade fair in the world. For the first time ever, the United States is the official “Partner Country” for the April 2016 event in Hannover, Germany.

Our Partner Country Status provides an unparalleled opportunity to showcase American businesses – you companies, the most innovative and forward thinking manufacturers in the world – front and center in both the exhibition hall and during special events. This is a chance to promote your world-class products in key real estate on the trade show floor and engage your senior executives with key policy makers and business leaders from around the world.

As members of the President’s Export Council, we need you to step up and get involved in our Hannover Messe efforts.  I encourage you to exhibit on the trade show floor.

We, at the Commerce Department, are ready to work with you to make your participation successful and impactful. We also ask you to advertise on the fairgrounds and around the high traffic areas throughout Hannover, and to encourage your supplier networks to attend and exhibit at the fair. My team can provide more information about the fair and events for American companies. Please do not miss this incredible chance to strengthen your company’s – and our country’s – global standing.

Both Hannover Messe and the Trans-Pacific Partnership are opportunities to increase our country’s competiveness and expand exports for U.S. businesses – two central goals of the PEC.

I understand that the recommendations the PEC will put forth today aim to further advance these objectives, including: finalizing a new Safe Harbor framework; promoting job-driven training and workforce development; and investing in our nation’s infrastructure.

Working together on these recommendations, I am confident we can make our companies more competitive and keep America open for more business. Thank you.