[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 648 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 648

              To improve small business export assistance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 1995

  Mr. Wyden introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
              To improve small business export assistance.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Export Enhancement 
Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) United States exports are concentrated very heavily 
        among a very few large companies. Only 2 percent of United 
        States businesses account for 85 percent of United States 
        exports.
            (2) Small businesses remain a large untapped resource of 
        potential export growth for the United States economy. However, 
        small businesses with competitive products frequently face high 
        transaction costs and have inadequate information about foreign 
        markets, factors which limit their ability to export.
            (3) There is a significant need for export assistance 
        services targeted to smaller exporters. Over 95 percent of 
        United States exporters have annual export sales of less than 
        $5,000,000, and 72 percent of United States export shipments 
        are worth less than $20,000.
            (4) There are over 150 Federal export promotion programs 
        fragmented among 19 different Federal agencies. Federal export 
        promotion activities are characterized by duplication of 
        effort, overlap, inefficient dissemination of services and 
        information, turf battles, and confusion among both providers 
        and users of assistance. The Trade Promotion Coordinating 
        Committee concluded that ``for many small and medium-sized 
        firms, getting through the bureaucracy may be as great a hurdle 
        as foreign market barriers''.
            (5) The National Performance Review concluded that the 
        Federal Government must reallocate its resources to sectors 
        that have clearly shown growth potential while it works to make 
        its services more accessible to clients.
            (6) State-based and private sector organizations frequently 
        have better, more timely information about which companies are 
        ready to export, and exactly what type of help they need, than 
        do Federal providers of export assistance.
            (7) State-based providers of export assistance, including 
        State departments of trade, local industry associations, 
        international freight forwarding companies, local and regional 
        banks, chambers of commerce, and world trade centers, have good 
        local networks to deliver services but their resources are 
        limited in comparison to the Federal Government.
            (8) Effective outreach by export assistance providers is 
        key to providing useful service to small businesses.
            (9) For all companies seeking to export, trade finance is a 
        necessity, and the Federal Government must find ways to help 
        the private sector to deliver trade finance in a useful and 
        profitable way.
            (10) Partnerships between the Federal Government and State-
        based providers of export assistance can more effectively focus 
        export assistance on small businesses. By combining the funds 
        and international resources of the Federal Government with the 
        local networks of State-based providers of export assistance, 
        such partnerships can provide a sharper focus on long-term 
        export market development than do traditional trade promotion 
        activities.

SEC. 3. EXPANDING FEDERAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR STATE-BASED EXPORT 
              ENHANCEMENT ACTIVITIES.

    (a) The Market Development Cooperator Program.--Of the funds made 
available in each fiscal year under section 202 of the Export 
Administration Amendments Act of 1985 for export promotion programs, 
$40,000,000 shall be made available to provide grants to qualified 
entities for activities described in section 2303 of the Export 
Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4723).
    (b) The Foreign Buyer Program.--Of the funds made available in each 
fiscal year under section 202 of the Export Administration Amendments 
Act of 1985 for export promotion programs, $2,000,000 shall be made 
available to provide financial support, on a shared basis, to small 
businesses to increase the number of small businesses participating in 
activities described in section 2304 of the Export Enhancement Act of 
1988 (15 U.S.C. 4724).
    (c) Trade Missions.--
            (1) Grant program.--The International Trade Administration 
        (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``ITA'') shall 
        establish a grant program to provide financial support, on a 
        shared basis, for foreign trade missions run by State 
        governments and designed primarily for participation by small 
        and medium-sized businesses.
            (2) Funding.--The ITA shall make available for the program 
        established under paragraph (1) no less funds than are 
        available for foreign trade missions run by the Federal 
        Government. The ITA shall use funds otherwise available to it 
        to provide financial support under the program.
            (3) Considerations in providing support.--In the selection 
        of trade missions to which the ITA will provide financial 
        support under this subsection, the ITA shall consider the 
        extent to which a proposed trade mission will advance the 
        State's economic development and export promotion strategies.

SEC. 4. DISCRETIONARY FUNDS WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE 
              ADMINISTRATION.

    In order to better fulfill its mandate to promote exports of goods 
and services of the United States, particularly by small- and medium-
sized businesses, the ITA shall make it a priority to expand financial 
support for State-based export enhancement activities, using funds 
otherwise available to the ITA. Such financial support may include 
matching grants for new or experimental State-based export enhancement 
programs that are not specifically authorized by the Congress but that 
have the potential to facilitate exporting by small businesses.

SEC. 5. IMPROVING INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE TO 
              HELP SMALL BUSINESSES COMPLY WITH EXPORT CONTROL 
              REQUIREMENTS.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the heads of Federal agencies involved in administering controls 
or regulations concerning the export of goods or services from the 
United States shall, in consultation with small businesses, State 
departments of trade, State-based industry trade associations, 
international freight forwarding companies, and other State-based 
providers of export assistance to small businesses, jointly establish 
and implement a plan to--
            (1) consolidate information regarding rules and 
        restrictions on exports and make it available in a format that 
        is easily accessible by small businesses that seek to export; 
        and
            (2) create an outreach program to inform small businesses 
        seeking to export of relevant rules and restrictions on exports 
        and to provide technical assistance for complying with those 
        rules and restrictions.

SEC. 6. IMPROVING EFFICIENCY TO REALIZE SAVINGS IN THE OPERATION OF 
              FEDERAL EXPORT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the ITA, in consultation with other Federal agencies that provide 
export assistance services (including trade finance and insurance), 
shall submit to the Congress a plan to consolidate or eliminate 
programs that provide substantially similar export assistance services 
or provide export assistance services to substantially similar 
recipients. The plan shall identify savings of not less than 
$100,000,000 per year (as compared to current costs), to be achieved 
primarily through improved efficiency, streamlining, and targeting of 
resources to sectors with high export potential.
                                 <all>