We cannot have record high trade deficits year after year. We want to reach out more to small businesses to encourage them to export, especially now that the Internet makes a worldwide reach so easy. As you know, we have an Advocacy Center to help firms win contracts overseas. We want to beef up our trade compliance activities. America has benefited from open trade.
Open markets work.
But not everybody has been playing by the same rules. We saw that with a record surge in steel imports last year. The industry and workers complained, and we responded. We accelerated our investigation and took action. And we look forward to working with you as we strengthen our monitoring and our ability to provide prompt relief from unfair practices.