How Important Are Export Programs for Small Businesses?

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Very important. The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a hearing at the Port of New Orleans on Keeping America Competitive: Federal Programs that Promote Small Business Exporting. The event included testimony from a number of witnesses. Read more here but let me leave you with an inspiring (yet maddening!) quote:

In her opening statement (PDF), Committee Chair Senator May Landrieu (D.-La.) noted that in 2008, $70 billion in exports maintained or created 600,000 high-paying jobs, and that small businesses make up nearly 97% of exporters nationwide. However, she went on to say, “while most of our exporters are small businesses, most of our small businesses are not exporting. In fact, small businesses make up just more than a quarter of the country’s export volume; trade remains dominated by larger businesses. What’s holding our entrepreneurs back?”

You tell me.