In an effort to boost the exports of aerospace companies, the U.S.-based Aerospace Industries Association is talking numbers of something the American president would lovejobs.

Last year, aerospace and defense employment dipped by 0.6% to 2.42 million, led by job losses in the supply chain, the association reports. To reverse that trajectory, AIA will be at the Paris Air Show emphasizing the industrys importance to trade in aerospace, cultivating new contacts and gaining support for policy changes to smooth exports. The U.S. is bringing a strong delegation led by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. About 350 U.S. companies, from 32 states, plan to exhibit at the show.

This is about jobs, says AIA President and CEO David Melcher. This is a U.S.-based industry. Things that we manufacture, that go abroad, are good for jobs at home.

Foreign trade has been a bright spot for the industry, with aerospace and defense exports reaching a record US$146 billion in 2016. The trade surplus was US$90.3 billionthe highest of any U.S. industry sector.

At Paris, AIA will be trying to expand on that success, building support among members and visiting politicians to lobby for the Export-Import Bank and improving the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process.

The Export-Import Bank could be providing export-credit financing to some US$30 billion in U.S. aerospace deals, but any deals involving more than US$10 million are in limbo until the banks board is fully staffed. In April, President Donald Trump appointed two Republican members of the board. However, they have not yet received a confirmation vote by the U.S. Senate. Even if they are approved, another member will have to be appointed, as the term of the boards vice chairman will expire July 19.

And even though defense exports remain high, Melcher says the U.S. could still improve. In the past five years, global weapons sales have grown, while the U.S. share of that market has remained stable.

AIA is working on several fronts to make it easier to export weapons by adjusting U.S. regulations. The U.S. lost global sales of space payloads and night vision technology due to International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Now the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which was put in place to prevent the spread of ICBMs, has blocked exports of U.S. unmanned aircraft, a market in which the U.S. was dominant, and led to innovation in UAV technology in other countries. Melcher is seeking to revise or upgrade the MTCR. That would be on the top of my list, he says.

Melcher is also seeking to create a national security cooperation strategy that would call on the departments of commerce, defense and state place a priority on defense exports. Commitments between military allies are solidified through FMS, Melcher says, with the support and the interactions and the training that continue long after the sale has been announced.

Plus, AIA will be supporting many workforce initiatives proposed by Adm. John Rixey, the outgoing head of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, to increase the size and professionalism of those who evaluate and support FMS. With the numbers of deals and the complexity involved, you have to have more people, Melcher says.

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has helped place a focus on the industry and to prioritize U.S. exports, Melcher says, pointing to Trumps recent visit to Saudi Arabia to announce some US$110 billion in potential defense exports over the next decade. I dont know what would have been the answer in the absence of that emphasis, but the fact is, emphasis matters, Melcher says. If youre picking some targets where you have opportunities or you have things that have been languishing, and youre making it known that as the president Im trying to move these things through the system, then folks fall in line. You have to have a national-level mandate or an executive-level mandate. That this is important.

Melcher says AIA also likes where the Trump administration is headed with streamlining regulations and with defense spendingalthough the association would like to see more dollars directed at the Pentagon.

But the industry is wary about protectionist trade rhetoric. If the U.S. adopts a protectionist stance on certain things, there will be a reaction, Melcher says. Its going to be some kind of reaction where theyre going to look out for their own interests. Thats the problem with protectionism. It raises everybodys walls.

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