Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker delivered remarks to open the U.S. Pavilion at the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow in England. At the week-long biannual trade show, U.S. aerospace manufacturers, along with industry partners from across the world, will demonstrate new civilian and military aircraft to potential customers and investors.

In her remarks, Secretary Pritzker highlighted the importance of the U.S. aerospace industry to America’s economy. Last year, the U.S. aerospace and defense industry exported a record $142 billion worth of domestic goods, sustaining the largest trade surplus of any manufacturing industry. Secretary Pritzker underscored the Obama Administration’s commitment to keeping America open for business and to ensuring that the world is open to American business.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

It is wonderful to be here with all of you today. The large presence of U.S. officials as well as industry leaders demonstrates our commitment to the United Kingdom and nations throughout Europe.

Strengthening the U.S. aerospace industry is a priority for the Obama Administration. Your industry drives the American economy, supporting more jobs through exports and sustaining the largest trade surplus of any manufacturing industry. Year after year, you are a bright spot in our trade data, a testament to the unparalleled quality of U.S. products in this field.

According to the Aerospace Industries Association’s most recent report, in the last year alone, the U.S. aerospace and defense industry exported a record $142 billion worth of domestic goods – meaning it is the third largest export industry in the United States. We know that U.S. aerospace has relied heavily on our domestic civil and defense contracts for business.

Yet each of us understands that relying on the U.S. market alone is no longer realistic for American companies. Demand for your products outside our borders has never been greater.

At the Department of Commerce, our role is to both keep America open for business and to ensure that the world is open to American business. We provide you with the services you need to compete abroad – both here in Europe and around the world. For example, we seek to expand access to rapidly growing markets with modern, high-standard trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

We produce market research for the aerospace industry: our U.S. Export Assistance Center teams work with you to find new markets for your products; develop effective strategies to enter those markets; and assist you in securing trade finance available through local, state, federal and private sector programs.

Our Foreign Commercial Service members are experts in markets across the globe, connecting you to partners overseas, guiding you through local regulations, and providing you with market insights.

And of course, we participate in trade shows and U.S. certified pavilions like this one.     

These resources can be useful to companies exporting for the first time and those that are seeking to further expand their global reach. I hope each of you will utilize them when making future business decisions.

Working together, we can expand U.S. exports and strengthen our country’s aerospace industry. With that, it is my distinct privilege to declare this beautiful pavilion and its more than 200 exhibitors “Open for Business.”