Obama naming 18 to advisory council on exports

[July 07, 2010]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is naming 18 corporate chiefs to an advisory council charged with helping the administration fulfill his promise to double U.S. exports and create millions of new jobs over the next five years.

Obama was delivering a progress report Wednesday and will say he's off to a good start. The White House says exports increased 17 percent in the first four months of the year compared with the same period last year.

The announcement follows a disappointing monthly unemployment report showing that just 83,000 private sector jobs were added in June.

Walt Disney's Robert Iger, Alan Mulally of the Ford Motor Co. and Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg are among those Obama is naming to the President's Export Council.

[Associated Press]

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