Commerce Department Lowers Fees for Small Business Export Services

There’s good news for small business exporters who plan to use the valuable services of the U.S. Commerce Department to help find overseas customers and distributors.

Some prices are actually going down!

After several years of negotiation between the exporter community, the Commerce Department, and the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Commerce Department has stabilized or even lowered its charges to small business exporters, particularly first-time users of Commerce’s exporter services.

Perhaps the most celebrated and admired service offered by the Commerce Department is its “Gold Key Service.”

Here’s how it works: An exporter tells the Commerce Department what he or she hopes to export and to which market(s). Then the Commerce Department personnel in the U.S. Embassies in those markets identify qualified buyers and distributors for the products. When the exporter arrives in the country, a series of appointments with pre-vetted buyers and distributors is already set up. This great service eliminates much of the worry about prospective foreign buyers, and saves enormous amounts of time and money for exporters traveling abroad. Also, foreign buyers tend to be impressed by an exporter who can get the U.S. Embassy to act on his or her behalf.

Other exporter services offered by the Commerce Department include profiles of potential foreign buyers and joint venture partners, as well as assistance with web promotion overseas.

SBEA commends the Commerce Department for its leadership on this issue.

To see the full list of services and the new fee schedule, Click Here.