Latest News

October 11, 2004
New U.S. action against intellectual property theft
A group of federal government agencies has banded together in the most ambitious plan yet to fight intellectual property theft. The agencies, which include the U.S. Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Commerce, as well as the U.S. Trade Representative, will focus on countries where piracy of patents, trademarks and copyrights, counterfeiting of goods, and [Read More]
July 26, 2004
Congress Approves Trade Agreements With Australia, Morocco
Smaller U.S. exporters should soon discover a variety of new exporting opportunities in Australia and Morocco, after the U.S. Congress approved free trade agreements with those two nations in mid-July. Australia will henceforth allow over 99% of U.S. manufactured goods to enter duty-free, and Morocco will do the same for over 95% of U.S. industrial [Read More]
July 19, 2004
Iraq private sector briefing
On 4 August 2004, the U.S. Department of Commerce will host an Iraq Private Sector Development briefing. The featured speaker is Michael Fleischer, Director of Private Sector Development for the former Coalition Provisional Authority. The briefing will take place from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Main Auditorium. You may register online at [Read More]
June 30, 2004
Reminder: New Shippers Export Declaration Form Now Required
As of 18 January 2004, exporters must file their Shippers’ Export Declarations on a new form or their shipments will be rejected. The new form asks for additional information about freight forwarders who may be handling the cargo. This information is Homeland Security-related, and ports monitored by US Customs and Border Protection have advised exporters that shipments without the additional information will be rejected.
June 21, 2004
Tax Refunds for U.S. Exporters?
Congress has been trying to find a way to replace the major tax incentives that were previously offered to U.S. exporters – the “Foreign Sales Corporation” and the “Extraterritorial Income Exclusion”. Both tax breaks were ruled to be illegal export subsidies by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet the major tax break that Europeans use [Read More]
April 8, 2004
Small Business Administration export lending resumes
The US Small Business Administration is "back in business" -- making export loans to small companies -- after a "team effort" push, that included the Small Business Exporters Association, convinced Congress to restore the programs. SBA provides short-term and export working capital loans to small business exporters.
January 15, 2004
Perez Appointed to Ex-Im Advisory Committee
SBEA is proud to announce that Ms. Maggie Perez, the CFO of MD International in Miami, FL, has been chosen by the Export-Import Bank of the United States to serve on its Advisory Committee.
December 12, 2003
Steel Tariffs to End
President Bush announced on 4 December that tariffs on imported steel that were imposed 21 months ago would be repealed.
October 24, 2003
Congressional Appropriators Agree to Fund Small Business Export Finance Specialists
In a turnaround, Congressional Appropriators have agreed to continue funding a program that who has helped small companies close more than $3 billion in export deals.
October 21, 2003
SBEA Named First Association Partner for OPIC
OPIC is increasing its focus on smaller companies. Now, SBEA's new partnership with OPIC can help members take advantage of the agency's financing and insurance programs.

EX-IM Bank Shutdown