The U.S. Department of Commerce has various sub-organizations that support U.S. small businesses and their efforts to expand into foreign markets, and attract job-creating foreign investment in the United States. These sub-organizations include the International Trade Administration (ITA) and its U.S. Commercial Service (CS), Advocacy Center and SelectUSA. Last year, the ITA surveyed over 15,000 businesses that had received international trade assistance from ITA. The high level summary and results are described below. If you are a small business owner looking for international trade assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to your one of ITA’s 100+ U.S. Commercial Service offices around the country to start reaping the benefits of their programs. Export guides and videos can also be found on “www.export.gov” to help get your export program off the ground quickly.
The International Trade Administration also helps to enhance market access for businesses by preventing, reducing and eliminating foreign trade barriers and unfair trade practices. Their market intelligence is based on a worldwide network of trade professionals who have extensive market knowledge. As a federal agency, it is uniquely positioned to address typical barriers to exporting such as regulatory barriers, intellectual property (IP) infringement, unfair trade practices and access to information and contacts abroad.
In 2016, the International Trade Administration:
The following describes the impact for U.S. businesses based on International Trade Administration assistance:
Further Assistance
Below is a link to download our “2017 Export Business Opportunities” guide which describes in detail other government programs (including programs from SBA, EXIM Bank and ITA) that will help support your international growth plans.