Small businesses are central to government export plan

3/1/2011

While large companies have traditionally been the focus of the United States government's export policies, President Barack Obama's administration is now looking to incorporate small businesses, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Gary Locke, U.S. Commerce Secretary, says that small businesses haven't gotten the attention they deserve from the government. With Obama's administration looking to double American exports during the next five years, however, the government is now looking to lend further support to small companies.

"We need to help the small and medium-sized companies," he told the paper. "If they really want to grow their revenues and diversify their revenues, they need to look at the fact that 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S."

As the Wall Street Journal notes, only 1 percent of American businesses export, and the majority of these companies export to only one other country.

With the greater availability of commercial loans, small business owners are in a better position to expand their companies' reach. Exporting can be an effective way to accomplish this goal.