WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET: JOB GROWTH THROUGH U.S./CHINA VISA VALIDITY

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
November 10, 2014

FACT SHEET: Supporting American Job Growth And Strengthening Ties By Extending U.S./China Visa Validity for Tourists, Business Travelers, and Students

Today, President Obama announced that the United States and the People’s Republic of China are concluding a reciprocal visa validity arrangement during his visit that will strengthen our ever-broadening economic and people-to-people ties.  Both countries have agreed to increase the validity of short-term tourist and business visas issued to each other’s citizens from one to ten years – the longest validity possible under U.S. law – and increase the validity of student and exchange visas from one to five years.  The United States will begin issuing visas in accordance with the new reciprocal agreement on November 12, 2014.

This arrangement will improve trade, investment, and business ties by facilitating travel and offering easier access to both economies.  Extended validity visas for students and exchange visitors will boost the bonds between our two peoples and facilitate travel for outstanding students from around the world who attend U.S. institutions of higher education.  As a result of this arrangement, the United States hopes to welcome a growing share of eligible Chinese travelers, inject billions in the U.S. economy and create enough demand to support hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. jobs.  Travelers will continue to be subject to all the same legal and security reviews that currently apply to visa applicants.

Welcoming a Growing Share of Chinese Travelers.

China is the fastest-growing outbound tourism market in the world, and in 2013, 1.8 million Chinese travelers visited the United States, contributing $21.1 billion to the U.S. economy and supporting more than 109,000 American jobs.
Chinese travelers consistently rank the United States as their most-desired travel destination, yet less than 2 percent of total Chinese travelers come to the United States.
Chinese travelers cite ease of visa policies as the second most important factor in deciding where to travel, behind only cost.
A competitive visa policy will help us meet projections that suggest as many as 7.3 million Chinese travelers will come to the United States by 2021, contributing nearly $85 billion a year to the economy and supporting up to 440,000 U.S. jobs.
Strengthening Bonds Between Chinese and American Students.
28 percent of all foreign students and exchange visitors in the United States originate from China.
Chinese students in the United States spent $8 billion in 2013, an increase of nearly 24 percent over the previous year.
Today’s arrangement will allow American and Chinese students to more easily travel back and forth, making foreign study a more attractive option, increasing opportunities for people-to-people ties, and boosting mutual understanding.
Extending Visa Validity to Increase the Number of Chinese Travelers Coming to the United States and Support American Jobs

Today, the President is taking action to welcome more Chinese visitors to the United States, in order to support America’s most important and largest services export – tourism.  Chinese travelers persistently rank the United States as their top desired travel destination, but only slightly more than 1.8 percent of total outbound travelers go to the United States.  Chinese travelers cite ease of visa policies as the second most important factor in deciding where to travel, behind only cost.  A competitive visa policy is needed to secure our place as the chosen destination for millions of Chinese travelers.

Travel and tourism is a major driver of the U.S. economy and we have made significant progress in improving our visa processing.  In 2013, nearly 70 million international travelers visited the United States, experiencing all that America has to offer from our cities to our many national parks. Those visits support nearly 1.1 million American jobs – including thousands at local and small businesses.  Growth in international visitors has created roughly 260,000 American jobs over the past five years alone. The Administration has taken steps to support this impressive growth, including improving visa processing waiting periods in important markets like China where they have dropped from as high as several months to less than five days on average. In total, the State Department issued 9.2 million visas worldwide in 2013, up 42 percent since 2010.
Global growth of outbound travel from China represents an unprecedented opportunity to foster job creation across the country.  China is the fastest growing outbound tourism market in the world, and Chinese visitors have accounted for 20 percent of the growth in overseas travel to the United States since 2008.  In 2013, 1.8 million Chinese travelers visited the United States, contributing $21.1 billion to the U.S. economy and supporting more than 109,000 U.S. jobs.  As incomes in China continue to rise, the number of Chinese citizens able to afford international travel and tourism is projected to more than double over the next few years, reaching the hundreds of millions.  Close to 7.3 million Chinese are projected to travel to the United States by 2021, contributing nearly $85 billion a year to the economy and supporting 440,000 jobs. But if our visa policy were allowed to fall behind other countries, we might miss out on much of this additional economic activity.

The United States must continue to maintain a competitive advantage in the global business arena. Extending visa validity will bring the United States into line or surpass other destinations that have already eased visa restrictions for Chinese travelers such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan.  The European Commission, France, Germany, and Italy are also taking steps to extend visa validity to Chinese travelers.  Today’s announcement will allow more Chinese to make the United States their destination of choice.

Increasing business travel will support the President’s goal of increasing exports. Increasing visa validity for U.S. citizens traveling to China makes it easier to respond to market and commercial opportunities in China, helping to boost U.S. exports, foster increased trade ties, and improve commercial linkages between U.S. and Chinese firms.  In the near term, extending visa validity for Chinese business travelers will also help meet the President’s SelectUSA goal of boosting inward investment into the United States as the U.S. travel and tourism industry commits to making upfront investments in new hotels and other infrastructure in anticipation of a rise in Chinese inbound travel.

Strengthening Tourism and Education Opportunities by Enhancing Student Visas

Chinese student and exchange visitors represent 30 percent of all such visas issued worldwide, with Chinese nationals comprising the largest group of foreign students in the United States.  Students, exchange visitors, and their dependents may now receive multiple-entry visas valid for up to five years, depending on their program.  This will allow American and Chinese students to more easily travel back and forth, making foreign study a more attractive option, increasing opportunities for people-to-people ties, and boosting mutual understanding.

EX-IM BANK BACKED PROJECT WINS WIND DEAL OF THE YEAR AWARD

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 
Ex-Im Bank-backed Orosi Project Wins Latin American Wind Deal of the Year 2013

Washington, D.C. – The Inversiones Eolicas de Orosi Dos S.A. (Orosi) Wind Project, a 50-megawatt wind farm in Costa Rica backed by Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) credit, received the Latin American Wind Deal of the Year 2013 from Project Finance Magazine.

“We thank Project Finance Magazine for recognizing Ex-Im Bank’s commitment to the American renewable-energy industry and the jobs it supports here at home,” said Export-Import Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “By financing the export of wind blades manufactured by Gamesa in Pennsylvania, we not only bolstered American job growth, but we also contributed to energy production in Costa Rica. It should be no surprise that we approved $257 million in authorizations for exports in wind, solar, biomass and other renewable-energy industries in FY 2013 to support high-tech American jobs.”

In late 2013, Ex-Im Bank approved a $61.1 million direct loan to Orosi, a subsidiary of the leading Central American wind-generation company Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy, for the purchase of wind-turbine generators manufactured by Gamesa in Fairless Hills, Pa.

The authorization, which represents Ex-Im Bank's first wind transaction in Costa Rica and fourth utility-scale wind project overall, will support approximately 200 U.S. jobs, according to Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS AT DCCC EVENT IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE
November 25, 2013
Remarks by the President at DCCC Event -- Seattle, WA

Private Residence
Seattle, Washington  


7:24 P.M. PST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you!  Thank you, guys.  (Applause.)  Sit down.  You already did that.  Thank you.  Thank you, everybody.  Have a seat.  Have a seat.

Well, first of all, let me just thank Jon for the second time for his incredible hospitality.  And I think it’s fair to say that between Nancy and me and Steve Israel, we do a lot of events.  I will say that this particular space is one of the more spectacular venues for an event.  (Applause.)  And we couldn’t have a more gracious host.  The only problem when I come to Jon’s house is I want to just kind of roam around and check stuff out, and instead I’ve got to talk.  (Laughter.)  But Jon, thank you for your friendship. We’ve very grateful.

A few other people I want to acknowledge.  First of all, our once Speaker and soon to be Speaker again, Nancy Pelosi.  We are thrilled to be with her.  (Applause.)  Someone who has an incredibly thankless job, but does it with energy and wisdom -- and I was going to say joy, but I’m not, I don’t want to kind of overdo it -- (laughter) -- but is doing an outstanding job -- Steve Israel, who is heading up the DCCC.  Thank you so much, Steve, for the great job that you’re doing.  (Applause.)

We’ve got some outstanding members of Congress here.  Congressman Rick Larsen is here.  Where’s Rick?  There he is.(Applause.)  Congresswoman Suzan DelBene is here.  (Applause.)  Congressman Derek Kilmer is here.  Where’s Derek? There he is -- (applause) -- who just informed me that his four-year-old at the Christmas party is going to sing me at least one patriotic song. (Laughter.)  And I’m very excited about this.  She has a repertoire of five songs, and we’re trying to hone in on what one song she is going to do.

And you’ve got a former outstanding member of Congress, who now is doing a great job as the Governor of this great state -- Governor Jay Inslee is here.  (Applause.)  And Trudi, who’s keeping him in line at all times.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank John Frank, who also spent a lot of time on this event.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)

Now, the great thing about these kinds of events is I spend most of my time in a conversation with you, as opposed to just making a long speech.  Let me make a couple of observations.  Number one, Jay claims he arranged it, but when we landed, we were flying over Mt. Rainier -- pulled into the airport, came off the plane, and the sunset was lighting the mountain.  And it was spectacular, and reminded me of why it is that I love the Pacific Northwest so much.

Now, part of it -- I was saying to somebody, part of it may also be that I always feel the spirit of my mom here, because I graduated from Mercer Island High.  (Applause.)  But you guys have got a good thing going here, and it’s not just the Seahawks. I just want to make that point.  (Applause.)

Point number two, obviously, there are such enormous challenges that we face all across this country and internationally, and this year we’ve seen issues ranging from the tragedy of Sandy Hook to disclosures at the NSA to the shutdown and the potential of default to continuing issues surrounding the Middle East and peace there.  And so it’s understandable, I think, that sometimes people feel discouraged or concerned about whether or not we can continue to make progress.  And one thing that I always try to emphasize is that if you look at American history, there have been frequent occasions in which it looked like we had insoluble problems -- either economic, political, security -- and as long as there were those who stayed steady and clear-eyed and persistent, eventually we came up with an answer; eventually we were able to work through these challenges and come out better on the other end.

And that’s true today as well.  After seeing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we’ve now seen 44 straight months of job growth.  We’ve doubled our production of clean energy.  We are actually importing less oil than ever before, producing more energy than ever before.  We’ve reduced the pace of our carbon emissions in a way that is actually better than the vast majority of industrialized nations over the last five years.

We’ve been able to not only create the possibility of all people enjoying the security of health care, but we’ve also been driving down the cost of health care, which benefits people’s pocket books, their businesses.  Our institutions of higher learning continue to be the best in the world.  And you’re actually -- because of the productivity of our workers, we’re actually seeing manufacturing move back to America in ways that we haven’t seen in decades.

 A lot of the reason that we’re making progress is because of the inherent resilience and strength of the American people, but a lot of it is because folks like Nancy Pelosi and some of the members of Congress, or even former members of Congress who are here made some tough decisions early on in my administration.  And we’re starting to see those bear fruit and pay off.

And so I’m incredibly optimistic about our future.  But I’m also mindful of the fact that we have some barriers, some impediments to change and progress.  And the biggest barrier and impediment we have right now is a Congress -- and in particular, a House of Representatives -- that is not focused on getting the job done for the American people, but is a lot more focused on trying to position themselves for the next election or to defeat my agenda.

 And that’s unfortunate, because that’s not what the American people are looking for right now.  And the truth is, is that there are a lot of ideas -- things like early childhood education, or rebuilding our infrastructure, or investing in basic science and research -- there are a whole range of -- immigration reform -- a whole range of ideas that if you strip away the politics, there’s actually a pretty broad consensus in this country.

I’m not a particularly ideological person.  There are some things, some values I feel passionately about.  I feel passionate about making sure everybody in this country gets a fair shake.  I feel passionate about everybody being treated with dignity and respect regardless of what they look like or what their last name is or who they love.  I feel passionate about making sure that we’re leaving a planet that is as spectacular as the one we inherited from our parents and our grandparents.  I feel passionate about working for peace even as we are making sure that our defenses are strong.

So there are values I care about.  But I’m pretty pragmatic when it comes to how do we get there -- and so is Nancy, and so is Jay.  And so more than anything, what we’re looking for is not the defeat of another party; what we’re looking for is the advancement of ideas that are going to vindicate those values that are tried and true, and that have led this country to the spectacular heights that we’ve seen in the past.

 But to do that we’re going to need Nancy Pelosi as Speaker, because there’s just a lot of work to be done right now.  Between now and next November, I’m going to do everything I can and look for every opportunity to work on a bipartisan basis to get stuff done.  There will not be a point in time where I’ve got an opportunity to get something done where I don't do it simply because of politics.  But those opportunity have been few and far between over the last several years, and the American people can’t afford to wait in perpetuity for us to grow faster, create more jobs, strengthen our middle class, clean our environment, fix our immigration system.

And so if we don't have partners on the other side, we’re going to have to go ahead and do it ourselves.  And so the support that you’re providing today and the support that you’ve provided time and again is making all the difference in the world.  And it’s part of what gives me confidence that we’re going to be successful over the long term.

So thank you.  We appreciate it.

And with that, let me take some questions.  (Applause.)