Growing Global to Survive

Strong Commitment to Small Business Owners: President Obama Signs Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act into Law

iStock/Thinkstock

President Obama signed the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 into law on May 30, 2012. Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred P. Hochberg joined the President at the White House for the signing ceremony.

The Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 extends the Bank's authority through 2014 and ultimately increases its portfolio cap to $140 billion. This provides much-needed certainty and predictability to U.S. exporters and their workers.

Learn more here.

Related post: Ex-Im's Hochberg Pledges $1 Billion Support for Executive Jets - Businessweek + Global Small Business Blog archives here.

Hat tip to Jim Greene (retired) for letting us know.

Let the Good Times Roll; Let the Small Businesses Go Global

Photodisc/Thinkstock

More on how small businesses are going global.

Just the facts:

Facilitating small-business exports of goods and services is a top priority for the Small Business Administration and Export-Import Bank of the United States, which are following Obama administration goals to double exports by 2014.

The U.S. exported a total of $178 billion in goods and services in July -- an all-time high, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis as cited by the Export-Import Bank.

In the Jobs Act signed into law in September 2010, President Barack Obama allowed for the SBA to increase its ability to provide export-related financing by raising SBA 7(a) loan limits to $5 million from $2 million on export-related loans.

The law made the SBA Export Express loan permanent, with a 90% guarantee for loans up to $350,000 and 75% for loans between $350,000 and $500,000, according to the SBA. It also provides three-year state grants of up to $90 million to help small-businesses owners grow the exporting side of their businesses.

In early August, the Export-Import Bank said it had hit a record $24.5 billion for export-related loan authorizations. The bank's financing supports more than $31.5 billion of export sales and 213,000 U.S. jobs, including 2,548 small-business export jobs.

Read more here.

Export-Import Bank Awards Small-Business Exporter of the Year 2011

iStock/Thinkstock

According to Export-Import Bank of the United States, the small-business Exporter of the Year 2011 award winner is: Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Wallquest Inc.

Wallquest Inc., a family-owned firm based in Wayne, Pa., sells wallpaper in more than 50 foreign markets, including China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Last year, the company’s exports rose 76% to over $17 million. The company’s growth since 2008 has been driven by the export market, according to Wallquest Vice President Jack Collins.

Learn more here.  Press release here.

Congratulations to Wallquest.  May their exports keep growing!

Can We Double U.S. Exports Over the Next Five Years?

iStock/Thinkstock

Some folks don't think so.

The administration’s National Export Initiative calls for a 20 percent increase in next year’s budget for the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, bringing it to $534 million. This would enable ITA to hire up to 328 trade experts to help U.S. companies find customers in foreign countries, with a particular focus on high-growth markets like China, India and Brazil.

The ITA aims to help 23,000 businesses to start exporting or grow their international sales next year. Over the next five years, the agency is shooting for a 50 percent increase in the number of small- and medium-size businesses that export to more than one market.

The administration also wants the Export-Import Bank to increase the financing it makes available to small- and medium-size businesses from a record $4.4 billion last year to $6 billion next year.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that provides loan guarantees, export-credit insurance and direct loans to finance sales of U.S. exports.

Read more here.

Get Ready Global Small Businesses: U.S. $6 Billion is Coming Your Way in Export Financing

iStock/Thinkstock

As reported by our friends and colleagues over at The New Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke pledged $6 billion a year in export financing for U.S.A. small businesses through the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Read all about it here:

Locke Pledges Aid for U.S. Small Business Exports (Update 1)

All we can say?

U.S.A., Export Away!

Export-Import Bank of the United States

If you have never explored the Export-Import Bank's site, kick back, relax and do it now. They have everything from conference news (click on What's New) to small business export financing help to key market guides. It's worth a visit.