UPS CEO and Chairman Scott Davis and the US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke have announced anexpanded partnership to double US exports among small- and medium-sized businesses in the next five
years.In the coming weeks, UPS will identify SMEs that currently export to just one market. UPS willthen analyse data about the companies and suggest new markets based on factors including industry,geography, currency, and market access opportunities.
From there, the US companies will be directly connected with trade specialists from the USCommercial Service (USCS), a division of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. The tradeexperts, who are stationed in 77 countries around the world, will design targeted strategies tohelp identify new market opportunities and find additional buyers in existing markets to expand thecompanies’ ability to sell their products and services.
“UPS has been working with the Commerce Department’s US Commercial Service since 2007 to provideexport assistance to smaller firms,” Davis said. “Our experience shows us that once these firmspursue international expansion, they grow and they create jobs. We look forward to working with thePresident’s team in any way we can on this new, important endeavour.”
The Commerce Department said that less than 1% of America’s 30 million companies currentlyexport. This percentage is significantly lower than in all other developed countries. 58% of the UScompanies which export do so to only one country. Many SMEs do not export, or export less than theyshould because of not having the resources to identify promising new markets or the necessarycontacts in foreign countries, the Commerce Department reported.
“Increasing the export of American products and services to global markets can help revive thefortunes of US companies, spur future economic growth and support jobs here at home,” Locke said. “The Commerce Department, with its network of trade specialists posted around the world, and UPS,with its global reach, can be a significant resource for these companies. Together, we’ve helpedthousands of American companies expand their share in existing markets and break into newones.”
