Senate bills seek to boost small business exports
June 15, 2009
World Trade\Interactive
Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Ranking Member Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, introduced recently legislation aimed at helping small businesses increase their exports. Both senators argued that existing programs are inadequate and that more needs to be done to help U.S. companies enter foreign markets given the ongoing economic downturn.
Landrieu’s bill, the Small Business International Trade Enhancements Act of 2009 (S. 1196), includes the following provisions.
• calls for a new assistant U.S. trade representative focused exclusively on small business issues to help raise the profile of small exporters and ensure that their interests are represented during trade negotiations
• gives the Small Business Administration’s Office of International Trade more resources and a higher profile within the agency by making it directly accountable to the administrator instead of part of the Office of Capital Access
• creates an associate administrator to head the SBA office in charge of overseeing all trade policy and programs and coordinate efforts with other agencies
• requires the SBA to maintain at least 22 trade financial specialist positions (up from 17 currently) to provide business counseling and technical assistance to small exporters through the U.S. Export Assistance Centers operated by the Department of Commerce
• increases the total amount of financing available under the International Trade Loan program (as the volume of loans made through this program had dropped by nearly two-thirds since 2003) and adjusts the collateral requirements by allowing a second lien position on property or equipment financed by a loan or on other assets of the small business
Landrieu pointed out that while small businesses represent 97% of all exporters, only 1% of small firms export their goods. She said her bill would make “a few key changes to some of the export assistance and trade programs offered by the SBA” in an effort to “dramatically improve the tools available to small exporters while simultaneously increasing exporting opportunities for all entrepreneurs.” She noted that this is the third consecutive Congress that she has introduced this legislation but said that as the new chair of the Senate Small Business Committee she intends to make increasing small business export opportunities one of her top priorities.
While stating that she shares this goal, Sen. Snowe introduced her own legislation, the Small Business Export Opportunity Act of 2009 (S. 1208), which includes the following provisions.
• ensures that small business interests are reflected in U.S. trade policy and trade agreement negotiations by establishing a USTR for small businesses
• creates a new SBA Office of Small Business Export Development and Promotion, elevates the head of the SBA office responsible for trade and export programs to the associate administrator level, and requires the agency to immediately fill its vacant trade specialist positions
• includes a grant program that matches up to $5,000 for expenses incurred by small businesses that are actively working to start or expand export activities
• improves the SBA’s Export Working Capital Program by increasing the maximum loan amount from $1.66 million to $5 million while maintaining the 90% government guarantee level
• establishes a permanent Export Express program, which provides streamlined processing, allows lenders to use their own credit decisions and documentation and provides expedited eligibility review
• promotes the use of the International Trade Loan program by firms adversely affected by international trade and increases the maximum loan amount from $1.66 million to $5 million with a 90% government guarantee
• requires the SBA to partner with the Export-Import Bank to extend delegated authority to more lenders and expand the availability of small business export credit
• increases the number of counselors nationwide through the SBA and its resource partners, who are trained to provide support for small businesses that currently have an export business or are working to expand their business into international markets
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