United States Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., stressed the importance of international exporting at a seminar for small and local businesses at Grainger Hall Tuesday.
The seminar aimed to give information to small businesses about how to take advantage of federal programs that may help them grow, and was hosted by the University of Wisconsin Center for International Business Education and Research.
Established in 1998, CIBER seeks to promote the competiveness of American firms doing business globally, said Director of Outreach Suzanne Dove.
Dove added, during her time in office, Baldwin has been a champion of economic growth in Wisconsin and has helped secure $200 million in federal funds to support local business projects.
In her speech, Baldwin said she understands businesses are having a difficult time because of the recession, and she hopes the seminar will give people ideas about tools they can use to help their companies grow.
“Every one of us in this room understands and has had real… experience with the struggles and challenges that individual families and businesses are facing together,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin also focused on President Barack Obama’s pledge in his State of the Union Address last month to double the amount of exports the country is currently selling, which could create 2 million jobs.
“Last year, the president and Congress took some important steps to invest in our recovery,” Baldwin said. “We’ve moved away from the brink, but we’re certainly not yet on solid ground.”
Fred Hochberg, president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, also spoke about the significance of exporting in allowing businesses to grow.
Hochberg said the Export-Import Bank is an organization that helps businesses by providing them with finance and capital, especially when they are unable to get finance from the private sector. It provides corporations with working loans to help them buy products and materials to run their businesses.
According to Hochberg, exports made up 13 percent of the country’s GDP in 2008, but dropped to 11 percent during 2009 because of the recession.
“We are still the largest manufacturing country in the entire world,” Hochberg said. “No country makes more goods and services than the U.S., and yet we’re the third largest exporter, and frankly, there’s no reason for that.”
Hochberg said when he travels abroad, he finds many international companies are “anxious” to do business with U.S. companies because they recognize the superior quality of American products.
“We don’t have to fear China. We don’t have to fear low-cost products,” Hochberg said. “We have superior products and superior quality.”
For small businesses looking to branch out in the export market, Hochberg recommended looking at Mexico and Canada first, as they are the closest and the U.S. has a free-trade agreement with both countries.
Baldwin said she hopes people who attended the seminar leave with the idea their small businesses can look to exporting as a possibility to expand in the future. This would hopefully also lead to them adding more jobs and hiring more people, she added.
