Graves Applauds Foreign Affairs Committee Passage of Bills to Improve Small Business Trade Opportunities
No-Cost Legislation Will Help Small Companies Enter Trade Market
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06), Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, today applauded the House Foreign Affairs Committee for approving two pieces of legislation he
helped author to assist small businesses seeking to export – the Export Promotion Reform Act (H.R. 1409) and the State Trade Coordination Act (H.R. 1926).
On May 9, Graves introduced legislation to reduce some of the key barriers and obstacles faced by small business exporters. Graves' Export Coordination Act would establish stronger congressional oversight and coordination of the federal export promotion agencies. Currently, there are over 20 federal agencies that provide some, or all, of the steps in the export process, and many small businesses do not know where to go for the information relevant to their needs. Graves' legislation was merged with Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Rep. Eliot Engel's (D-NY) Export Promotion Reform Act (H.R. 1409) during a subcommittee markup on June 26. Additional provisions of the Graves bill were added during the full committee markup. The State Trade Coordination Act (H.R. 1926), sponsored by Ohio Congressman Steve Chabot and cosponsored by Graves, would establish the framework to ensure that federal and state trade agencies work in unison to assist their local exporters. Both pieces of legislation were reported out of the Committee by unanimous voice vote today.
"Expanding into world markets is a big challenge for small firms with limited resources, so Washington should do more to make the process simpler," said Congressman Graves. "A recent National Small Business Association study found that nearly 50 percent of small exporters spend at least a few months preparing to export, and spend an average of 8.4 percent of that year's operating revenue on those preparations. This legislation will help streamline the export process and provide better coordination among the federal export promotion agencies, something that is badly needed to open up new markets for many small companies."
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