SelectUSA Investment Summit Spotlight: Building Your Supply Chain & Exporting

Guest blog Micah Escobedo, Communications Specialist, SelectUSA

Today’s the final day of the 2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit, and the U.S. Government (USG) Pavilion is open until 2:00 p.m. For the past week, we have been highlighting some of the agencies that are staffing the Pavilion, ready to share information with companies interested in establishing or expanding operations in the United States. Stop by to learn about finding and training your workforce, economic and population data, programs to support advanced manufacturing and innovation, and regulations governing visas and customs. But, there’s still more…

Throughout the Summit, participants have been learning about opportunities to manufacture and export from the United States. Foreign direct investment (FDI) helps drive American manufacturing: as of 2013, U.S. affiliates of foreign companies employed 2.3 million U.S. workers in manufacturing. That’s 18.8 percent of all U.S. manufacturing employment. During the same year, these companies exported $360 billion worth of goods from the United States – or nearly 23 percent of all U.S. goods exports.

From these numbers, it is clear that many international companies agree that the United States offers a competitive export platform. According to the World Bank, no other country has a more streamlined a set of export procedures. Free trade agreements with 20 nations give U.S.-based exporters enhanced access to additional markets with hundreds of millions more potential customers.

To find practical information to help you build a local American supply chain for your business, visit the U.S. Government Pavilion (located near the Exhibition Hall), to meet with:

• Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA, Kiosk 6): The United States boasts eight million firms owned by racially and ethnically diverse small and medium enterprises. They are innovative, flexible and found in all industry sectors.  Contact MBDA to locate a new supplier or business partner who speaks your language and shares your goals of business success.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology, Manufacturing and Extension Partnership (NIST MEP, Kiosk 9): NIST MEP is a public/private partnership that works with small and midsized U.S. manufacturers to create and retain jobs, increase profits, save time and money, develop new customers and expand into new markets. They also work with companies of any size to help them tap into this network of local manufacturers for their supply chain.

To learn more about resources for exporting, visit:

• International Trade Administration (ITA, Kiosks 13-14): Team members from multiple units will be on hand to discuss a variety of resources for exporters, including industry-specific data.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA, Kiosk 17): The Foreign Agricultural Service provides a number of programs to assist U.S. exporters of agricultural goods.
• Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im, Kiosk 15): The official export credit agency of the United States, Ex-Im helps level the playing field for U.S. exporters.
• Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS, Kiosk 11): BIS administers export controls on items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), including U.S.-origin commodities, software, and technologies. 
• Small Business Administration (SBA, Kiosk 22): SBA works with small businesses as they start or expand export activity.
• Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR, Kiosk 12): USTR is responsible for developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy, and overseeing negotiations with other countries.

Not attending the Summit? Please visit www.SelectUSA.gov all year round and contact us to learn how we can help investors and U.S. economic development organizations with investments in the United States. For more information on the resources and tools available to exporters, please visit SelectUSA.gov/exporting.