Introduction

The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of International Trade (OIT) developed this Trade Guide as an information tool to assist American business develop international markets. This Guide will help answer questions and take the mystery out of exporting. The United States government has committed enormous resources to help small businesses, like yours, reach overseas markets. Did you know that:

• the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) employs 76 District International Trade Officers and 10 Regional International Trade Officers throughout the United States as well has a 10-person international trade staff in Washington, D.C.;
• the SBA, through its Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) program, oversees 850 volunteers with international trade experience to provide one-on-one counseling to active and new-to-export businesses;
• the SBA made 348 loans nationally to exporters for more than $123 million in FY 1991 and 617 loans for more than $241 million in FY 1992;
• the SBA supports over 900 Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs). Some SBDCs have designated international trade centers; all SBDCs provide export counseling, referral and/or training;
• the SBA coordinates the Export Legal Assistance Network (ELAN), a nationwide group of international trade attorneys who provide free initial consultations to small businesses on export related matters;
• the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (US&FCS) has 68 offices throughout the United States and 120 overseas posts, representing 95 percent of the world market for U.S. products and services;
• the ITA in Washington, D.C. has industry-specific specialists monitoring export opportunities for U.S. products and services in every sector, from abrasive products to zippers;
• the DOC sponsors 51 District Export Councils (DECs), comprised of nearly 1,700 business and trade experts available on a volunteer basis to help U.S. firms develop export strategies;
• the DOC Minority Export Development Consultants Program supports more than 107 Minority Business Development Centers throughout the United States;
• the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) maintains a $30 million budget for export promotion of U.S. commodities through trade fairs and other activities;
• like DOC, USDA has a large group of country specialists focusing on a range of products from oilseeds to poultry;
• the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Eximbank) has trained specialists in 24 states and in Puerto Rico through its City/State program to provide export financing assistance to small businesses;
• the Eximbank has financed over $11.3 billion of U.S. exports in 1991, with 18.4 percent of Eximbank's authorizations going to support small business exports?

The SBA and a multitude of federal, state and local government agencies are ready to assist you in opening new avenues of opportunity in the international marketplace. With their help, and with the information contained in this guide, you will find that access to international markets is possible and profitable.

Next: Chapter 1: Making the Export Decision