USTR, SBA Launch New Effort to Help U.S. Small Businesses Export to the European Union
September 6, 2013
(SBA)
Small Businesses to Offer Suggestions for
Increasing Exports under the Transatlantic
Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP)
WASHINGTON –U.S. small businesses currently
exporting to the European Union (EU) will have
the opportunity to voice their concerns on
existing barriers to trade with the EU through
a series of roundtables across the country. The
roundtables will be held as part of broader
outreach efforts under the recently launched
U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. The objective
of the roundtables is to listen to and better
understand small business’ suggestions on how
to reduce and eliminate those barriers, and
help expand U.S. small business exports to the
EU.
In July, the United States and the European
Union held the first round of TTIP negotiations
aimed at increasing jobs, economic growth and
international competitiveness on both sides of
the Atlantic. The transatlantic economic
relationship is already the world’s largest,
accounting for one third of total goods and
services trade and nearly half of global
economic output, while supporting 13 million
U.S. and EU jobs. In both the United States and
the EU, small and medium businesses are
critical motors of growth, job creation and
innovation. Negotiators intend to conclude an
agreement that recognizes the important role
small businesses play in the transatlantic
relationship and enhances their ability to
participate in and benefit from new trade and
investment opportunities.
The roundtables were commissioned by the Office
of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR), which asked the U.S. International
Trade Commission (USITC) to conduct a study on
the existing trade barriers that
disproportionately affect U.S. small business
exporters. Since the President’s National
Export Initiative (NEI) goal to double exports
by the end of 2014 has focused on increasing
the current base of 295,000 small business
exporters, an increase in small business
participation could result in expanded trade
between two regions whose two-way trade already
exceeds $630 billion.
USITC responded by organizing the TTIP
roundtables, which will be held from September
9th through September 27th in key cities. The
schedule for the roundtables is:
Month/Day -- City
9/9 -- Detroit
9/10 -- Cleveland
9/11 -- Minneapolis
9/12 -- Milwaukee
9/13 -- Chicago
9/16 -- Raleigh
9/17 -- Raleigh
9/17 -- Denver
9/18 -- Atlanta
9/18 -- Albuquerque
9/19 -- Houston
9/19 -- Miami
9/20 -- Salt Lake City
9/23 -- Philadelphia
9/23 -- Los Angeles
9/24 -- New York
9/24 -- Irvine
9/25 -- Long Island
9/25 -- Sacramento
9/26 -- Boston
9/27 -- Providence
9/27 -- Fresno
If you’d like to take part in a roundtable,
please contact sme@usitc.gov for more
information.
In addition to participating in the
roundtables, exporters will have other means to
convey their concerns and suggestions through
public
hearings in San Jose, Calif. (Sept. 26th)
and Washington, D.C. (Oct. 8th). Business
owners who are interested in having their
voices heard but cannot attend the roundtables
or public hearings can submit written
statements by sending an email to sme@usitc.gov
(by Oct. 15, 2013) or by mail to EU-SME
Project, U.S. International Trade Commission,
500 E Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20436 (no
later than Sept. 30, 2013).
For more detailed information, visit http://www.usitc.gov/332_541_Trade_Barriers.htm
and http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/fed_reg_notices/332/332_541_notice07252013sgl.pdf
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content. For more information on the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
and U.S trade with the European Union, visit www.USTR.gov/TTIP.
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