SME's Exporting Survey Report 2013

8/13/2019 SME's Exporting Survey Report 2013

1/18NSBA/SBEA 2013 SMALL BUSINESS EXPORTING SURVEY 1

SMALL BUSINESSEXPORTING SURVEY2

013


2/182 NSBA/SBEA 2013 SMALL BUSINESS EXPORTING SURVEY

FOREWORD

Since1937,theNationalSmallBusinessAssociation(NSBA)hasbeenthenationsleadingsmall-businessadvocate.NSBAanditscouncil,theSmallBusinessExportersAssociation(SBEA),thelargestandoldestnonprofitassociationinthecountrydedicatedexclusivelytosmall-andmid-sizeexporters,hasnearly100combinedyearsinadvocatingforAmericassmallbusinessesandsmallexporters.Asthecountrysleadingsmall-businessadvocateandpremiersmall-businessexportingorganization,wearepleasedtoprovidethe2013SmallBusinessExportingSurveyonthestateofexportingforAmericassmall-businessowners.

AspartofNSBAsmissionto addresstheneedsand represent theconcernsof theU.S. small-businesscommunity,weconductaseriesofsurveysandquickpollsthroughouttheyear.Inadditiontooursemi-annualEconomicReports,NSBAroutinelysurveysourmembershiponkeyissuesrangingfromhealthcaretotaxation.Exportingremainsanuntapped,butgrowingmarketplaceforsmallbusinesses,makingthissurveyacriticaltooltodeterminethecostsandchallengestocurrentandpotentialexporters.

Even insoundeconomictimes,smallbusinessesareatadistinctdisadvantageintheglobaleconomy.NSBAandSBEAhavebeenurgingforyearsdecades,eventhatmoremustbedonetoemphasizetheneedsofsmallbusinesswithinthescopeofU.S.trade.Inthepastfewyears,therehasbeenaconcertedeffortbytheadministration,Congressandregulatorstoimproveandenhanceexportingopportunitiesforsmallbusinesses.Whileimportantstepsforwardhavebeenmadeandthissurveyshowsgrowthinsmall-businessexporting,morecanandshouldbedone.

Amongthevariousfindings inthisnewsurveywhichbuildsuponour2010surveyonexportingwefoundanotable

increaseinthenumberofsmall-businessownerswhoreporttheyexporttheirgoodsand/orservices.FurthermoreandperhapsevenmorepromisingforU.S.globaltradetherewasamarkedincreaseamongnon-exporterswhosaidtheywouldbeinterestedinstartingtoexporttheirgoodsand/orservicesfromjust43percentin2010to63percenttoday.

Inadditiontothispositivenews,thesurveyfoundthattherewasasignificantdropinthosenon-exporterswhosaidlackofgoodsorservicestoexportwastheirmainbarriertosellinginternationally.Today,themainbarrierisalackofinformationandanunclearunderstandingofwheretostart,aproblemwithaclearanddoablesolution.

Inthissurveywefoundslightgrowthinsmallerandnewerexportersthantherewasjustthreeyearsago,underscoringtheimportantrolesmallbusinessplaysinU.S.internationaltrade.MorecompaniesareexportingtoChina,Mexico,IndiaandBrazilthanwerethreeyearsago,whileCanadaremainsthe#1countryofexportforU.S.smallfirms.

Unfortunately, thepathwaytoexporting isverychallenging.Nearlyhalfofsmall-businessexportersreportspendingaminimumofafewmonthsaswellasanaverageof8.4percentoftheirannualoperatingrevenuepreparingtoexport.Intodayseconomicenvironment,thistimeandfinancialexpenditureisextremelydifficultforsmallbusinesses.

Asexpected,gettingpaidisasignificantworryforexportersandnon-exportersalike,andaveryvalidconcern.However,oneoverarchingthemethroughoutthesurveywasthebroadagreementthattheU.S.systemandassistancecanbeoverlycomplex. Two of thetopthree responsesamongboth exporters and non-exporterswhen askedwhat typesof federalgovernmentsupportwouldbemostbeneficial to their companyhadtodowith betteravailabilityof information andconsolidatingfederalagenciestoprovideaone-stop-shop,twoissuesNSBAandSBEAhaveraisedformanyyears.

WhileU.S.exportingtypicallyconjuresimagesof large,massivefirms,thereiswithoutadoubtanimportantandgrowingrolesmallbusinessesplay.Smallexportingfirmsactuallyaccountfor98percentofallexportingfirmsand33percentofU.S.exportingvalue,accordingtotheU.S.CensusBureau.Notonlyissmall-businessexportingimportanttotheU.S.economy,exportingisimportanttosmallbusiness:theInternationalTradeCommissioncalculatedthatsmallexportingfirmsaveraged37percentrevenuegrowthbetween2005and2009comparedtothedeclineofsevenpercentfornon-exportingfirms.

Conductedon-lineMay1,2013May17amongmorethan500small-businessowners,wehopeyoufindthe2013SmallBusinessExportingSurveyinformative.

Wehavemadeimportantprogressasanationwhenitcomestosmall-businessexportinginthelastthreeyears,andthereismuchmorewecando.

PleasecontactNSBAatpress@nsba.bizforanyquestionsorfollow-uponthissurvey.

Sincerely,

ToddO.McCracken DavidIckertNSBAPresident NSBAChair AirTractor,Inc.


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52

EXPORTING ACTIVITY

Inthelastthreeyears,weveseenanotableincreaseinthenumberofsmall-businessownerswhoreporttheyexporttheirgoodsand/orservices.Andwhilethissurvey,byitsnaturemaybeslightlyself-selectinginthatitislikelytodrawmoreexportersthannonexporters,thesampleofthe2010surveyissimilarenoughtothe2013surveytofairlystatethisnewdatadoesindicategrowthinexportingbyAmericassmall-businessowners.

AMONG ALL RESPONDENTS

Please rank each of the following benefits of exporting in order of how important they areor would be to your business, with #1 being the most important.

Among those that DO export, What kind of merchandise or services have you sold to acustomer outside the United states?

Have you ever sold merchandise or services to a customer outside of the United States?

Increased salesand prots

Diversied and expandedcustomer base

Services Only

18%Goods Only

52%Services & Goods

30%

Provide increased stability inlight of U.S. economic diculties

1.44 2.03 2.52

Yes No

201364%

36%

2010

52%

48%



52

EXPORTING OPINIONS

There was amarked increase among non-exporterswhosaidtheywouldbeinterestedinstartingtoexportheir goods and/or services from the 2010 surveyotodays data.This isa clearindicationboth oftheU.S.growingmaturity inthe export arena as well as

hangingattitudesbysmallbusinessesthatexportingsaviableoptiontogrowtheirbusiness,particularlyiventhesluggishU.S.economicrecoveryweveseennthepastthreeyears.

Thisgrowingopennesstoexportingisunderscoredythesignificantdropinthosenon-exporterswho,n 2010, said lack of goods or services to exportwas their main barrier to selling internationally,ut today reported the main barrier is lack ofnformation and an unclear understanding ofwheretostart.

Among non-exporters, Small Business DevelopmentCenters are the most recognized resource for

nformationonexporting,despiteahostofmoreexport-argeted resources being available. This, along witheveraldata sets in this surveymakea clearcase forheneedtosimplifyassistanceresourcesandprovideone-stop-shoptoensuresmallbusinessesaregettinghebest,mostcomprehensiveinformationavailable.

AMONG NON-EXPORTERS ONLY

Would you be interested in selling merchandise orservices to a foreign customer in the future, if someof your concerns could be addressed?

What do you consider the main barriersto selling your goods and/or services toforeign customers? (Check all that apply)

Which of the following government exportingprograms have you heard of? (Check all that apply)

63%

38%43%

53%

2013

Yes No

2010

2013 2010

Dont know much about it andnot sure where to start 46% 38%

I dont have goods and/or ser-vices that are exportable

30% 49%

Id worry too much aboutgetting paid

26% 29%

Too costly 20% 27%

Lengthiness & timeconsumption of obtainingvisas and work permits

16% n/a

Insucient protection of in-tellectual property rights

14% n/a

Cant get nancing to oerforeign customers

14% 7%

Restrictions on formingpartnerships or joint ventures,or the requirement to havepartnerships with localbusinesses

14% n/a

It would take too much timeaway from my regular, do-mestic sales

12% 17%

Other 16% n/a

Small Business Development Centers 58%

SBA export lending programs 43%

U.S. Department of Commerce exportassistance

37%

U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank nancing 34%

Trade Missions 27%

U.S. Trade Representatives Oce 25%

Overseas Private Investment Corporation

(OPIC) loans and insurance15%

U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEAC) in

major cities15%

U.S. Department of Agriculture exportingassistance and/or nancing

13%

Export promotion programs oered by my

state 12%

U.S. Commercial Service personnel assignedto U.S. embassies abroad

8%

U. S. Department of Commerce Gold KeyProgram

7%

District Export Council (DEC) 3%

Bidding on foreign projects funded by mul-tilateral organizations/banks

1%

Other 3%



EXPORTING ACTIVITY

Although there was a jump inhe number of small-businessxporterswhoreporttheyexportomorethan 20countries, there

lsoappearstobeslightgrowthinmallerandnewerexportersthanherewasjustthreeyearsago.

As to be expected, some ofhe more rapidly developingountries with growing middlelasseshavejumpeduponthelistfthetopcountriestowhichsmallusinessesareexporting:Chinaisnowinthe#2slot,upfrom#8in010;Mexicojumpedthreespots,rom#7in 2010to #4today, andoth India and Brazil made theoptenforthefirsttime.Canadamaintains its #1 ranking from010totoday,likelyunderscoringhe ease and benefits associatedwith selling to a long-time U.S.radepartneralaNAFTA.

There was a slight increase inhe number of small-businesswners who report they handlehe bulk of their exportingctivities themselves, likely dueo the slightly smaller companyizeoverallofthesurveysample,s well as ongoing economic

hallenges.

naddition topositive growth inhe number of small-businessxporters citing total exportolume increases in the pastear,itisworthnotingthatnearlyne-third29 percentreportedncreasesofmorethan10percent.Thisgrowthcorrelatestonationalxporting data. According the

FY2014 Administration BudgetRequest,in2012,exportsofgoodsndservicesreachedrecordlevels

f over $2.2 trillion 39percentbove 2009 levels. Furthermore,ccording to the U.S. CensusData, total international trade inoods and services was roughly4.9 trillionin 2012,upfrom$2.5rillion in 2000. Of that total,xports accounted for nearly2.2 trillion, a new all-timehigh.According to the InternationalTrade Commission (ITC), thosexportshelpedsupportnearly10million jobs, including about 4millionsmall-businessjobs.

AMONG EXPORTERS ONLY

What percentage of your business salesis from exporting?

What are the top threecountries to which you expo(please list in order of expovolume with #1 being the

highest volume)

Who manages the bulk of yoexporting activities?

How many years have you been exporting?

How many countries are you exporting to?

In the last 5 years, how much has yourexport volume changed?

2013 2010Less than 10 percent 54% 52%

10 to 20 percent 17% 21%

21 to 50 percent 17% 17%

More than 50 percent 12% 10%

Canada 27%

China 9%

U.K 8%

Mexico 8%

Australia 5%

Germany 3%

Japan 3%

India 3%

Brazil 2%

Israel 2%

2013 2010

Less than 5 years 25% 22%

6 to 10 years 29% 24%

11 to 20 years 23% 25%

More than 20 years 23% 18%

2013 2010

Less than 5 55% 54%

5 to 10 18% 25%

11 to 20 12% 11%

More than 20 15% 10%

2013 2010

Total Increase 52%46%

`

Total Decrease20% 27%

Stay About The Same 28% 27%

47%

50

4%

40%

5

4%

2013 2010

I do it myself

My staf manages it

I use an export management comp

Canada 1

UK 1

Germany

Australia

France

Japan

Mexico

China

Italy

Russia

2013 2010



52

52

PREPARING FOR EXPORTING

Thefactthatnearlyhalfreportspendingafewmonthsormorepreparingtoexportisaclearindicatorofthe

complexityfacedbynewexportersandtheneedforimproved,streamlinedassistance.

The average small-business exporter reports spending approximately 8.4 percent of their annual operatingrevenueonpreparingtoexport.Toputthatincontext,theaverageS-Corpreportsspending11.1percentoftheir

annualoperatingrevenueonsalariesandwages,accordingtothemostrecentinformationavailablefromtheIRS.

AMONG EXPORTERS ONLY

ON AVERAGE, SMALL-BUSINESS EXPORTERS RATED DIFFICULTY OF

ENTERING THE EXPORTING ARENA A 5 ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10, WITH

10 BEING THE MOST DIFFICULT.

Roughly what percent of your annual operatingrevenue did you devote to getting ready to export?

Approximately how much time did you haveto spend up-front before engaging inexporting?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most difficult, how difficult was entering the exporting arenafor your business?

50%

36%

8%

6%

60%

21%

8%

11%

14%

9%

11%

7%

13%

12%

9%

9%

15%

22%

4%

7%

11%

7%

13%

16%

3%

5%

8%

5%

2013

Lessthan 5%

Morethan 20%

5% - 10%

11% -20%

2010

2013 2010

A little time (a few weeks) 43% 43%

A fair amount of timte (a fewmonths)

23% 29%

A lot of time (severalmonths)

13% 18%

A year or more 13% 10%

Other 8% n/a

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2013

2010



CHALLENGES OF EXPORTINGAMONG EXPORTERS ONLY

Gettingpaidisasignificantconcernforexporters,rankedasthemostsignificantchallengetheyface,followedbycomplexityanddifficulty.Additionally,79percentexpressedsomelevelofconcernoverreceivingpaymentfromaforeigncustomer.

52

52

What do you consider the largest challenges to selling your goods and/or services to

foreign customers? (Check all that apply)

Have you ever had trouble exporting yourproduct to any countries due to foreignimport restrictions?

How significant a concern is receivingpayment from a foreign customer to you?

I worry about getting paid 41%

It is confusing and dicult to do 29%

I have limited goods and/or services that are exportable 23%

It takes time away from my regular, domestic sales 21%

It is very costly 19%

I cant get nancing to oer foreign customers 14%

I have all the business I want domestically 3%

Other 28%

Yes VeryNo Somewhat Not a concern

69%

31%40%

37%

24%



EXPORT PAYMENTSAMONG EXPORTERS ONLY

JUST 12 PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS SAY THEY

UTILIZE PAYMENT ENHANCEMENTS, AMONG

THOSE THAT DO, 54 PERCENT UTILIZE EXPORT-

IMPORT BANK PRODUCTS.

Giventheconcernsmall-businessexportersexpressovergettingpaid,itisnowondertheoverwhelmingmajority,69percentsaytheyprovidetheirproduct/servicesaftertheyhavereceivedthefullpayment.

52

52

Which of the following methods of payment do you accept from foreign customers? (Check

all that apply)

Among exporters who do utilize payment enhancement options, which of the following doyou use? (Check all that apply)

Ship on receipt of full payment in advance 69%

Ship on 30 day open account 43%

Ship under a bank issued letter of credit 32%

I provide extended payment terms to my foreign customers 17%

I provide payment terms to my customer with acceptable (to my bank) payment

enhancements in place12%

I sell my foreign receivables to a factoring entity 4%

My bank will advance funds to me upon shipment 2%

Other 16%

Export-Import Bank products (Ex-Im Bank) 54%

Private credit insurance 24%

Overseas Private Investment Corporation products (OPIC) 13%

Other 9%



EXPORT FINANCEAMONG EXPORTERS ONLY

MORE THAN ONE-THIRD REPORT SECURING FINANCING

FOR EXPORTING OPERATIONS IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN

FINANCING FOR GENERAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS.

Themajorityofsmall-businessexporterssaythataccesstoexportfinancingisimportanttotheirbusiness.Thefactthatadecentnumberof respondentsstatethatexportfinancingisntimportantis likely indicativeofthesurveysamplebeingslightlysmallerandyoungerin theirexportoperations,andarelikelyexportingsmallervolumetofewerclients.UnderscoringthesurveysamplesizebeingslightlysmalleristhefactthatOtherwasthehighestresponsewhenaskedaboutfinancingsources,andthemostcommonexplanationwasself-funded,earningsofthebusinessornoneneeded.Furthermore,just11percentreportbeingturneddownforfinancingspecificallybecauseitwasforexportingoperations,indicatingthattheexportingvolumelevelsarelikelylower,inaccordancewithsmallerexportingoperations.

How important is it for your company to haveaccess to export financing? 52

From which of the followingsources have you secured financingfor your exporting operations?

Would you say securing financing for your firms exporting operations is more or lessdifficult than securing financing for traditional business operations?

Traditional, large bank 33%

Small, community bank 26%

Via Ex-Im Bank products 11%

SBA Lending Program 7%

Credit union 4%

Other 35%

Extremely 15%

Very 10%

Somewhat 29%

Not at all 47%

More dicult Less dicultAbout the same

35% 2%63%



EXPORT-IMPORT BANK UTILIZATION

AMONG EXPORTERS ONLYAmongallsmall-businessexporters,just12percentreporthavingeverusedanEx-ImBankproductnotsurprisinggiventhat 82 percent have never discussedEx-Im Bank products with their bankorotherlenders,and22percentreportneverhavingheardofEx-ImBank.

Among those small-business exporterswhodoutilizeEx-ImBankproducts,thebank receives high ratings for beinguser-friendly. That, coupled with thereality that there are many countriesinwhichtheonlywaytodobusinessisthroughEx-Impaymentenhancements,explainswhyagoodnumberofexportingcompanies report utilizing Ex-Im Bankformorethan10years.

Yes No

Never heard ofEx-Im Bank

Not Sure

12% 64%

22% 2%

Has your bank or other lender ever discussed Ex-ImBank products with you?

Have you ever used any Ex-Im products?

Among exporters who have utilizd Ex-Im Bank, howlong have you been using Ex-Im Bank?

Yes No

18.5%

81.5%

=?

Among exporters who do useEx-Im Bank products, which ofthe following have you used?(Check all that apply)

Among exporters who haveutilized Ex-Im Bank, please rateits services in the followingcategories 1-5, with 1 being thebest and 5 being the worst.

Short Term Credit

Insurance52%

Working Capital Guar-antee Program

36%

Medium TermProgram

26%

Long Term Program 13%

Other 16%

Responsiveness 2.07

Timeliness 2.17

Ease of transaction 2.28

Technical assistance 2.32

Less than 1 year1 to 2 years3 to 5 years5 to 10 yearsMore than10 years

3.4%6.9%

27.6%

20.7%

41.4%



FREE TRADE AGREEMENTSAMONG EXPORTERS ONLY

Amongsmall-businessexporters,thereareabroadnumberofbenefitsreapedbyFreeTradeAgreements.While15percentreportactuallybeinghurtbyFTAs,thatlikelyisduetocompetitionfromforeigncompetitorssellingproductsand/orservicesintheU.S.

Which of the following has your company benefit ted fromas a result of free trade agreements? (Check all that apply)

Access to new foreign markets 30.9%

Opportunity to expand existing export operations 29.4%

Increased business protability by removing barriers and

investment in market18.6%

Access to foreign standards and technical regulations 8.2%

Access to new investment opportunities 6.7%

Access to foreign government contacts 5.2%

Enhanced ability to set up foreign operations/bases 2.6%

My company has actually been hurt by free trade agree-

ments14.9%

Other 27.8%



EXPORT CONTROLSAMONG EXPORTERS ONLY

Currently,thereisanationalsecurity-basedprogramthatrequiresexporterstoobtaingovernmentpermissionbefore exporting controlled items, such as munitions and commercial items with military applications tocountries,end-usersorend-usesofconcern.Thecurrentsystemisspreadacrosssevendepartmentswithvaryingdegreesofjurisdictionontwodifferentcontrollists:theCommerceControlList,CCLandtheU.S.MunitionsList,

USML.Thishascausedsignificantambiguity,confusionand jurisdictionaldisputesbetweenthedepartments,delayingclearlicensedecisionsformonths,andsometimesforyearsamajorproblemforanyexporterwithgoodsoneitheroftheselists.

TheNSBA/SBEAExportingSurveyshowsthatthemajorityofsmall-businessexporterswithitemsoneithertheUSMLorCCLlisthaveencounteredcomplexity,atime-consumingprocessanddealingwithamultitudeofagencies.

Does your exportable product containany equipment, software servicesor technology, or information andinstructions thereof that are on either ofthe following lists?

If you do have goods on the exportcontrols list, have you attempted to geta validated export license or munitionslicense for the product?

If you do have goods on the exportcontrols list, which of the followingissues have you encountered under ourcurrent Export Controls system? (Checkall that apply)

Yes - U.S. Munitions List (USML) 2%

Yes - Commerce Control List (CCL) 7%

Yes I have products on both lists 6%

I have no exportable products oneither list

75%

Not sure 11%

Complexity 75%

Time-consuming 75%

Dealing with a multitude of

agencies 53%

Outdated items are still needlessly

included50%

Unpredictability 39%

Not sure 3%

Other 14%

Destination country 67%

Competing product from another

vendor subsequently got the sale33%

The potential customer 17%

Intended end-user 17%

Yes Not SureNo

53%

44%3%

If the license was denied, what was thereason? (Check all that apply)



EXPORT SUPPLIERSAMONG EXPORTERS ONLY

Despite assertionsto thecontrary,U.S. small-businessexportersarea criticalcomponentofthe U.S.export

strategy.Smallexportingfirmsaccountfor98percentofallexportingfirmsand33percentofU.S.exporting

value,accordingtotheU.S.CensusBureau.

Notonlyis small-businessexportingimportant to theU.S. economy, exporting is important tosmall business:theInternationalTradeCommissioncalculatedthatsmallexportingfirmsaveraged37percentrevenuegrowth

between2005and2009comparedtothedeclineofsevenpercentfornon-exportingfirms.

Do you sell goods and/orservices to another U.S. companythat then uses those goods/services to sell/export toforeign customers?

Do you consider this transaction (selling yourgoods/products to another U.S. company that usesthose items in their exports) part of exporting?

Yes

Yes

Not Sure

Not Sure

No

No

44.5%

35%

38.5%

52%

17%

13%

WHILE MANY EXPORTING FIRMS(45 PERCENT) ALSO SERVE ASEXPORT SUPPLIERS (THEY SELLTHEIR GOODS/SERVICES TOOTHER COMPANIES THAT THEN

USE THOSE GOOD/SERVICESTO EXPORT), THE MAJORITYOF SURVEY RESPONDENTS (64PERCENT)BOTH EXPORTERSAND NON-EXPORTERSSAID THEYSELL THEIR GOODS AND PRODUCTSDIRECTLY TO A CUSTOMEROUTSIDE THE U.S.

WHEN ASKED ABOUTTHE EXPORTINGSUPPLIERRELATIONSHIP,JUST ONE-THIRD(35 PERCENT) SAIDTHEY CONSIDER

THE EXPORTINGSUPPLIERRELATIONSHIPTO BE PART OFEXPORTING.



FEDERAL EXPORT POLICYAMONG EXPORTERS & NON-EXPORTERS

Twoofthetopthreeresponsesamongbothexportersandnon-exporterswhenaskedwhattypesoffederalgovernmentsupportwouldbemostbeneficialtotheircompanyhadtodowithbetteravailabilityofinformationandtechnicalassistance.ExportingsmallbusinessesalsostatedthatexporttaxincentivesandmaintainingacompetitiveU.S.dollarexchangeratearehighlyimportant.Non-exportingsmallbusinessesalsoemphasizedastrongU.S.TradeRepresentativeOfficeaswellasincreasedassistancetohelpestablishforeignrelationshipsasimportanttotheirpotentialexportingoperations.

Thefactthatbothexportersandnon-exportersrankedconsolidatefederalexportingassistanceandcreateaone-stop-shopamongtheirtopthreeoughttosendaclearmessagetopolicymakers.

What types of federal government support for exporting would be most useful to you andyour company as an exporter or as a potential exporter? (Check all that apply)

Exporter Rank Non-Exporter Rank

Establish export tax incentives for small exporters 40.8% 1 23.8% 7

Make more export training and technical assistancereadily available to small-business exporters

35.5% 2 49.2% 1

Consolidate various exporting assistance oerings fromdierent federal agencies (create a one-stop-shop)

34.9% 3 33.6% 2

Maintain an export competitive U.S. dollar ex-change rate

34.9% 4 20.5% 10

Have a strong small business advocate within theU.S. Trade Representative Oce, which handlestrade negotiations with other countries

33.6% 5 33.6% 3

Increase assistance to small businesses seeking toestablish joint ventures in foreign countries

29.6% 7 32.8% 4

Helping states promote exports 29.6% 6 23.8% 8

Make sure foreign countries dont violate their tradeagreements with the U.S.

28.3% 8 26.2% 5

Help exporters with the protection of their intel-lectual property

23.0% 9 18.9% 11

Have loan ocers available around the countrywho can underwrite SBA and Ex-Im Bank exportloans

20.4% 10 24.6% 6

Negotiate and pass additional Free Trade Agree-ments

18.4% 11 15.6% 13

Reduce fees on Gold Key services overseas, tohelp U.S. sellers nd foreign buyers and distributors

17.8% 12 9.8% 15

Pass any pending Free Trade Agreements 15.8% 14 15.6% 14

Modify the Export Control laws 15.8% 13 9.8% 16

Expedite the visa process for visiting foreignbuyers and distributors of U.S. products

11.8% 16 18.0% 12

Other 13.8% 15 21.3% 9



FEDERAL EXPORT POLICYAMONG EXPORTERS & NON-EXPORTERS

These responses explain why

there may a relatively low rate

of utilization of a host of federal

exportingprogramsandpointeven

further to the need to simplifyand streamline. A positive when

it comes to federal initiatives on

exporting is the fact that there is

growthinthoseawareof,andhelped

by the administrations efforts to

enhanceexporting,specifically,the

NationalExportInitiative.

Which of the following government programs have you takenadvantage of? (Check all that apply)

Do you think any of theadministrations recentproposals to enhanceexporting opportunities

(such as the National ExportInitiative) will help you startor expand your exportingoperations?

Exporter Non-Exporter

U.S. Department of Commercepresentations or websites

29% 7%

Exporting advice from a Small BusinessDevelopment Center

13% 4%

Exporting assistance oered by mystate government

12% 3%

Trade Missions 11% 1%

U.S. Department of Commerce GoldKey Program 13% 1%

U.S. Commercial Service personnelassigned to U.S. embassies abroad

11% 1%

A U.S. Export Assistance Centers(USEAC) in a major U.S. city

10% 1%

Exporting advice from an SBA DistrictOce

8% 5%

Export-Import (Ex-Im) Banknancing, through a commercial bank

5% 0%

I have used these services but stillhave not exported

2% 9%

SBA export lending programs,through a commercial bank

3% 4%

The District Export Council (DEC) inmy area

5% 0%

Overseas Private Investment Corpo-ration (OPIC) nancing, directly orthrough a commercial lender

3% 0%

Bidding on foreign projects fundedby multilateral organizations/banks

2% 0%

Ex-Im Banks Medium Term DelegatedAuthority loans

1% 0%

U.S. Department of Agriculture

exporting assistance and/or nancing2% 1%

N/A Never used any of theseservices

52% 73%

Other 5% 9%

Yes they already havehelped me

Yes they will help me

No

Not Sure

3%

13%

36%

48%

vs.

vs.

vs.

vs.

N/A*

*This question was not

asked in 2010.

5%

38%

57%

2013 2010



METHODOLOGY

The2013SmallBusinessExportingSurveywasconductedon-lineMay1,2013May17amongmorethan500small-business owners, predominantly members of NSBAand SBEA, representing every industry in every statein the nation.While the results in this survey can be

extrapolated to theat-largesmall-businesscommunity,it isworthmentioning thatNSBAmembers tend tobeolder,morewell-establishedsmallbusinesses.Thatsaid,thecross-sectionofbusinessdemographicsisconsistentwith past NSBA/SBEA Exporting Surveys, resulting invalidtrendingdata.


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Documents

SME's Exporting Survey Report 2013