President Obama: Latin America trip is about jobs

story by The Hill
written by Kevin Bogardus

While acknowledging the prominence of the crisis in Libya and the tragedy in Japan, President Obama on Saturday took on an economic issue by discussing his trip to Latin America and promoted trade with South American countries as a way to boost job growth in the United States.

Obama's trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador is already underway, but in his weekly address, he said he was traveling to help open up those markets to U.S. companies and products. “One of the main reasons for my trip is to strengthen economic partnerships abroad so that we create good jobs at home," Obama said.

“Latin America is a part of the world where the economy is growing very quickly. And as these markets grow, so does their demand for goods and services,” Obama said. “As president, I want to make sure these products are made in America. I want to open more markets around the world so that American companies can do more business and hire more of our people.”

The president said every $1 billion of goods and services the United States exports supports more than 5,000 domestic jobs. That is why Obama wants to double U.S. exports by 2014.

The president said some of the countries he plans to visit support U.S. jobs. American exports to Brazil, he said, support 250,000 jobs and those to Chile support 70,000 jobs.

“What is clear is that in an increasingly global economy, our partnership with these nations is only going to become more vital,” Obama said. “For it’s a source of growth and prosperity — and not just for the people of Latin America, but for the American people as well.”