Breaking Into The Trade Game: A Small Business Guide
Introduction
The U.S. Small Business Administration"s (SBA) Office of
International Trade (OIT) developed this Trade Guide as an
information tool to assist American business develop
international markets. This Guide will help answer questions and
take the mystery out of exporting. The United States government
has committed enormous resources to help small businesses, like
yours, reach overseas markets. Did you know that:
- the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) employs 76
District International Trade Officers and 10 Regional
International Trade Officers throughout the United States as well
has a 10-person international trade staff in Washington, D.C.;
- the SBA, through its Service Corps of Retired Executives
(SCORE) program, oversees 850 volunteers with international trade
experience to provide one-on-one counseling to active and
new-to-export businesses;
- the SBA made 348 loans nationally to exporters for more than
$123 million in FY 1991 and 617 loans for more than $241 million
in FY 1992;
- the SBA supports over 900 Small Business Development Centers
(SBDCs). Some SBDCs have designated international trade centers;
all SBDCs provide export counseling, referral and/or training;
- the SBA coordinates the Export Legal Assistance Network
(ELAN), a nationwide group of international trade attorneys who
provide free initial consultations to small businesses on export
related matters;
- the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) International
Trade Administration (ITA) U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (US&FCS)
has 68 offices throughout the United States and 120 overseas
posts, representing 95 percent of the world market for U.S.
products and services;
- the ITA in Washington, D.C. has industry-specific
specialists monitoring export opportunities for U.S. products and
services in every sector, from abrasive products to zippers;
- the DOC sponsors 51 District Export Councils (DECs),
comprised of nearly 1,700 business and trade experts available on
a volunteer basis to help U.S. firms develop export strategies;
- the DOC Minority Export Development Consultants Program
supports more than 107 Minority Business Development Centers
throughout the United States;
- the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS) maintains a $30 million budget for
export promotion of U.S. commodities through trade fairs and
other activities;
- like DOC, USDA has a large group of country specialists
focusing on a range of products from oilseeds to poultry;
- the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Eximbank) has
trained specialists in 24 states and in Puerto Rico through its
City/State program to provide export financing assistance to
small businesses;
- the Eximbank has financed over $11.3 billion of U.S. exports
in 1991, with 18.4 percent of Eximbank's authorizations going to
support small business exports?
The SBA and a multitude of federal, state and local government
agencies are ready to assist you in opening new avenues of
opportunity in the international marketplace. With their help,
and with the information contained in this guide, you will find
that access to international markets is possible and profitable.
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*Last Modified 7-5-01