SBA Grants $30 Million to States for Trade, Export Promotion
September 27, 2011
(Small Business Administration)
STEP Initiative Will Help Small Businesses Export
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Small Business Administration is providing $30 million in
grants to states, territories, and the District of Columbia, to help increase
exporting by small businesses during the next 12 months. The grants were
authorized by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, under the State Trade and
Export Promotion Program (STEP).
The STEP program, launched in March, aligns with President Obama's National
Export Initiative. The President's initiative calls for doubling U.S. exports
in five years – and in so doing, supporting two million jobs. The program
provides federal government funding for 65 to 75 percent of program costs, with
states supplying the remainder.
SBA Administrator Karen Mills announced the awards today at an event in Raleigh,
N.C., at Raleigh Denim, a small business that produces and exports denim
products. Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the
Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands received STEP grants.
"Strengthening the nation's economy through a substantial increase of U.S.
exports is a top priority for the Administration and the agency," said Mills.
"This is a unique partnership between the federal government and the states.
Sharing responsibilities and resources will help new small exporters across the
country enter and succeed in the global market."
The funding will support participation in foreign trade missions, foreign market
sales trips, subscriptions to services provided by the Department of Commerce,
website translations fees, design of international marketing media, trade show
exhibitions, participation in training workshops, and other critical export
initiatives.
Small businesses that want to receive assistance under the STEP program should
contact the organizations serving the states in which they are located. For a
list of these organizations and more information about the STEP program, visit
http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-content/1/2889/resources/14315.
The SBA anticipates it will conduct a new competition for STEP program grants
during the winter of 2011. Awards will be made in September 2012 for export
support services by states over the following 12 months.
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