Three Washington-based trade associations back a six-point plan to double U.S. exports in five years – a key objective of the Obama administration.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, the Coalition of Service Industries and the National Association of Manufacturers issued a statement July 26 saying that “doubling exports in five years is an ambitious but achievable goal if major changes are enacted.”

They recommended that pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea be enacted; new trade agreements be pursued; non-tariff barriers be reduced; more investments be made in relevant infrastructure and in trade facilitation initiatives; support for the Doha Round agreement and more export promotion efforts and financing policies.

“If drastic changes are not made to double exports, our nation’s manufactured goods exports will fall nearly $300 billion short of the president’s goal in 2014,” Frank Vargo, vice president of international economic affairs at the manufacturing association, said in a news release.

“Our partners and competitors are moving forward with negotiating new free trade agreements and enacting other policies to boost exports, and the U.S. is being left behind.”

His comments were echoed by Rosemarie Watkins, director of international policy at the agriculture association, who said “these measures are critical for increasing U.S. agricultural competitiveness around the world and meeting the growing world demand for food with U.S agricultural products.”

“While services account for 80 percent of the U.S. economy, they account for only about 31 percent of U.S. exports, in part because of the prevalence of barriers to services trade around the world,” said Bob Vastine, president of the Coalition of Service Industries.