Latest News
August 22, 2013
Exports on the Rise, Trade Deficit Drops
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently announced that total exports for June 2013 increased to $191.2 billion from May’s revised total exports of $187.1 billion, an increase of $4.1 billion. On the imports side, the June total was $225.4 billion, down from $231.2 billion. These changes [Read More]
April 4, 2013
Advocacy Report: Small Exporters Hit Hardest by Poor Bank Health
Recently, the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy released a new report entitled, “The Impact of Credit Availability on Small Business Exporters” which examines how the Great Recession impacted small exporters and their ability to garner financing. NSBA data over the past five years shows that, overall, small businesses are more able to garner [Read More]
April 3, 2013
SBEA Member Testifies Before Congress on Exporting
On Feb. 28, SBEA member and past NSBA chair Raymond Arth of Avon Lake, Ohio testified before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade at a hearing titled, “Small Business Trade Agenda: Opportunities in the 113th Congress.” Arth is president and CEO of Phoenix Products, Inc., a faucet manufacturing company in operation [Read More]
April 3, 2013
Ex-Im Bank: Medium- and Long-Term Content Review
The Export Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) Reauthorization Act of 2012 requires the Bank to consider and report back to Congress on whether the Bank’s current domestic content policy for Medium- and Long-Term (MLT) transactions sufficiently and accurately captures the direct and indirect costs of goods and services exports. Given historical Congressional intent, [Read More]
April 3, 2013
SBEA Supports Ex-Im Bank’s Board of Directors
NSBA and its international trade arm, the Small Business Exporters Association (SBEA) recently signed onto a letter to the White House urging President Barack Obama to move swiftly on nominations for the Export Import (Ex-Im) Bank’s Board of Directors. The bipartisan Board of Directors is instrumental to its day-to-day operations—managing the Bank and approving its [Read More]
April 3, 2013
New State Export Data Shows Notable Growth
According to U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank, new state export data shows 29 states set new records for export sales in 2012. In total, 35 states achieved merchandise export growth in 2012, and 20 of those states experienced growth of at least five percent or more. Total merchandise exports from all 50 states [Read More]
April 3, 2013
Trade Deficit Grows Near-Term, Drops Long-Term
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently announced that exports in January 2013 increased to $184.5 billion from December’s total exports of $186.6 billion, a drop of $2.2 bililion. Further driving growth in the overall trade deficit was the jump in imports from $224.8 billion in December [Read More]
April 3, 2013
U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement: Effects on Small Firms
The U.S. Trade Representative has requested the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) conduct a study of the U.S. Korea Free Trade Agreement: Effects on U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. One of the primary goals of the President s National Export Initiative is to increase export opportunities for America’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Under the [Read More]
August 20, 2012
U.S.-Russia Trade Takes Important Step Forward
Following the bipartisan approval by the Senate Finance Committee on July 18 of the bill that would establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia by removing the nation from the 1974 Jackson-Vanik Amendment, the House Ways and Means Committee followed suit on July 26 by unanimously approving H.R. 6156, the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik [Read More]
August 20, 2012
