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United States Code (Last Updated: May 24, 2014) |
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Title 15. COMMERCE AND TRADE |
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Chapter 14A. AID TO SMALL BUSINESS |
§ 649. Office of International Trade
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(a) Establishment (1) Office There is established within the Administration an Office of International Trade which shall implement the programs pursuant to this section for the primary purposes of increasing— (A) the number of small business concerns that export; and (B) the volume of exports by small business concerns. (2) Associate Administrator The head of the Office shall be the Associate Administrator for International Trade, who shall be responsible to the Administrator.
(b) Trade distribution network The Associate Administrator, working in close cooperation with the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of State, the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Director (3) an estimate of the total number of jobs created or retained as a result of export assistance provided by the Administration and resource partners of the Administration; (4) for any travel by the staff of the Office, the destination of such travel and the benefits to the Administration and to small business concerns resulting from such travel; and (5) a description of the participation by the Office in trade negotiations. (g) Studies The Associate Administrator, in cooperation, where appropriate, with the Division of Economic Research of the Office of Advocacy, and with other Federal agencies, shall undertake studies regarding the following issues and shall report to the Committees on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and to other relevant Committees of the House and Senate within 6 months after August 23, 1988 , with specific recommendations on—(1) the viability and cost of establishing an annual, competitive small business export incentive program similar to the Small Business Innovation Research program and alternative methods of structuring such a program; (2) methods of streamlining trade remedy proceedings to increase access for, and reduce expenses incurred by, smaller firms; (3) methods of improving the current small business foreign sales corporation tax incentives and providing small businesses with greater benefits from this initiative; (4) methods of identifying potential export markets for United States small businesses; maintaining and disseminating current foreign market data; and devising a comprehensive export marketing strategy for United States small business goods and services, and shall include data on the volume and dollar amount of goods and services, identified by type, imported by United States trading partners over the past 10 years; and (5) the results of a survey of major United States trading partners to identify the domestic policies, programs and incentives, and the private sector initiatives, which exist to encourage the formation and growth of small business. (h) Discharge of international trade responsibilities of Administration The Administrator shall ensure that— (1) the responsibilities of the Administration regarding international trade are carried out by the Associate Administrator; (2) the Associate Administrator has sufficient resources to carry out such responsibilities; and (3) the Associate Administrator has direct supervision and control over— (A) the staff of the Office; and (B) any employee of the Administration whose principal duty station is an Export Assistance Center, or any successor entity. (i) Export and trade counseling (1) Definition In this subsection— (A) the term “lead small business development center” means a small business development center that has received a grant from the Administration; and (B) the term “lead women’s business center” means a women’s business center that has received a grant from the Administration. (2) Certification program The Administrator shall establish an export and trade counseling certification program to certify employees of lead small business development centers and lead women’s business centers in providing export assistance to small business concerns.
(3) Number of certified employees The Administrator shall ensure that the number of employees of each lead small business development center who are certified in providing export assistance is not less than the lesser of— (A) 5; or (B) 10 percent of the total number of employees of the lead small business development center. (4) Reimbursement for certification (A) In general Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Administrator shall reimburse a lead small business development center or a lead women’s business center for costs relating to the certification of an employee of the lead small business center or lead women’s business center in providing export assistance under the program established under paragraph (2).
(B) Limitation The total amount reimbursed by the Administrator under subparagraph (A) may not exceed $350,000 in any fiscal year.
(j) Performance measures (1) In general The Associate Administrator shall develop performance measures for the Administration to support export growth goals for the activities of the Office under this section that include— (A) the number of small business concerns that— (i) receive assistance from the Administration; (ii) had not exported goods or services before receiving the assistance described in clause (i); and (iii) export goods or services; (B) the number of small business concerns receiving assistance from the Administration that export goods or services to a market outside the United States into which the small business concern did not export before receiving the assistance; (C) export revenues by small business concerns assisted by programs of the Administration; (D) the number of small business concerns referred to an Export Assistance Center or a small business development center by the staff of the Office; (E) the number of small business concerns referred to the Administration by an Export Assistance Center or a small business development center; and (F) the number of small business concerns referred to the Department of Commerce, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of State, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, or the United States Trade and Development Agency by the staff of the Office, an Export Assistance Center, or a small business development center. (2) Joint performance measures The Associate Administrator shall develop joint performance measures for the district offices of the Administration and the Export Assistance Centers that include the number of export loans made under— (A) section 636(a)(16) of this title; (B) the Export Working Capital Program established under section 636(a)(14) of this title; (C) the Preferred Lenders Program, as defined in section 636(a)(2)(C)(ii) of this title; and (D) the export express program established under section 636(a)(34) of this title. (3) Consistency of tracking The Associate Administrator, in coordination with the departments and agencies that are represented on the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee established under section 4727 of this title and the small business development center network, shall develop a system to track exports by small business concerns, including information relating to the performance measures developed under paragraph (1), that is consistent with systems used by the departments and agencies and the network.
(k) Export Assistance Centers (1) Export finance specialists (A) Minimum number of export finance specialists On and after the date that is 90 days after
September 27, 2010 , the Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, shall ensure that the number of export finance specialists is not less than the number of such employees so assigned onJanuary 1, 2003 .(B) Export finance specialists assigned to each region of the Administration On and after the date that is 2 years after
September 27, 2010 , the Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, shall ensure that there are not fewer than 3 export finance specialists in each region of the Administration.(2) Placement of export finance specialists (A) Priority The Administrator shall give priority, to the maximum extent practicable, to placing employees of the Administration at any Export Assistance Center that— (i) had an Administration employee assigned to the Export Assistance Center before January 2003; and (ii) has not had an Administration employee assigned to the Export Assistance Center during the period beginning January 2003, and ending on September 27, 2010 , either through retirement or reassignment.(B) Needs of exporters The Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, strategically assign Administration employees to Export Assistance Centers, based on the needs of exporters.
(C) Rule of construction Nothing in this subsection may be construed to require the Administrator to reassign or remove an export finance specialist who is assigned to an Export Assistance Center on
September 27, 2010 .(3) Goals The Associate Administrator shall work with the Department of Commerce, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to establish shared annual goals for the Export Assistance Centers.
(4) Oversight The Associate Administrator shall designate an individual within the Administration to oversee all activities conducted by Administration employees assigned to Export Assistance Centers.
(l) Definitions In this section— (1) the term “Associate Administrator” means the Associate Administrator for International Trade described in subsection (a)(2); (2) the term “Export Assistance Center” means a one-stop shop for United States exporters established by the United States and Foreign Commercial Service of the Department of Commerce pursuant to section 4721(b)(8) of this title; (3) the term “export finance specialist” means a full-time equivalent employee of the Office assigned to an Export Assistance Center to carry out the duties described in subsection (e); and (4) the term “Office” means the Office of International Trade established under subsection (a)(1).
Prior Provisions
A prior section 649, act July 30, 1953, ch. 282, title II, § 220, 67 Stat. 240, which required a fair charge for use of Government-owned property, was omitted as superseded by section 643 of this title. See Codification note set out under section 631 of this title.
Amendments
2010—Pub. L. 111–240, § 1203(a)(1), inserted section catchline.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1203(a), inserted subsec. (a) heading, designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted par. (1) heading, substituted “for the primary purposes of increasing—” for period at end, added subpars. (A) and (B) of par. (1), and added par. (2).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(1), added subsec. (b) and struck out former subsec. (b) which related to development of distribution network, marketing of programs and dissemination of information, and bilingual job applicants.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(A), inserted heading and substituted “The Associate Administrator” for “The Office” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(C), added par. (1). Former par. (1) redesignated (2).
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(D), substituted “mechanism for—
“(A) identifying subsectors of the small business community with strong export potential;
“(B) identifying areas of demand in foreign markets;
“(C) prescreening foreign buyers for commercial and credit purposes; and
“(D) assisting”
for “mechanism for (A) identifying sub-sectors of the small business community with strong export potential; (B) identifying areas of demand in foreign markets; (C) prescreening foreign buyers for commercial and credit purposes; and (D) assisting”.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(B), redesignated par. (1) as (2). Former par. (2) redesignated (3).
Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(E), substituted “assist small business concerns in forming and using” for “assist small businesses in the formation and utilization of”.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(B), redesignated par. (2) as (3). Former par. (3) redesignated (4).
Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(F), substituted “district” for “local”, “small business development center network” for “Small Business Development Center network”, and “small business development center program” for “Small Business Development Center Program” and struck out “existing” before “translation”.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(B), redesignated par. (3) as (4). Former par. (4) redesignated (5).
Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(B), redesignated par. (4) as (5). Former par. (5) redesignated (6).
Subsec. (c)(5)(A). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(G)(i), substituted “Gross State Product” for “Gross State Produce”.
Subsec. (c)(5)(B). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(G)(ii), substituted “North American Industry Classification System” for “SIC” in two places.
Subsec. (c)(5)(C). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(G)(iii), substituted “small business concerns” for “small businesses”.
Subsec. (c)(6). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(H), substituted semicolon for period at end.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(B), redesignated par. (5) as (6). Former par. (6) redesignated (7).
Subsec. (c)(7). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(I)(i)(II), (v), substituted “small business concerns” for “small businesses” and “up to date” for “current” in introductory provisions.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(I)(i)(I), which directed amendment of introductory provisions by inserting “concerns” after “small business”, could not be executed because the words “small business” did not appear.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(B), redesignated par. (6) as (7). Former par. (7) redesignated (8).
Subsec. (c)(7)(A). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(I)(ii), substituted “regional and district offices of the Administration” for “Administration’s regional offices”.
Subsec. (c)(7)(B). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(I)(iii), struck out “current” before “list”.
Subsec. (c)(7)(C). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(I)(iv), (v), struck out “current” before “directory” and substituted “small business concerns” for “small businesses”.
Subsec. (c)(7)(D). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(I)(v), substituted “small business concerns” for “small businesses”.
Subsec. (c)(8). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(J), struck out “and” at end. The amendment was made to reflect the probable intent of Congress, in the absence of quotation marks around the word “and” in the directory language.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(B), redesignated par. (7) as (8). Former par. (8) redesignated (9).
Subsec. (c)(9). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(K)(i), (vi), in introductory provisions, substituted “small business concerns” for “small businesses” and “individual in each district office and providing each Administration regional office with a full-time export development specialist, who” for “person in each district office. Such specialists” and struck out “full-time export development specialists to each Administration regional office and assigning” before “primary responsibility”.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(B), redesignated par. (8) as (9).
Subsec. (c)(9)(A). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(K)(vi), substituted “small business concerns” for “small businesses”.
Subsec. (c)(9)(B). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(K)(vi), substituted “small business concerns” for “small businesses”.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(K)(ii)(II), which directed amendment by substituting “in” for “with”, was executed by making the substitution for “within”, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(K)(ii)(I), struck out “current” before “directory”.
Subsec. (c)(9)(D). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(K)(iii), (vi), substituted “personnel of the Administration involved in making” for “Administration personnel involved in granting” and “small business concerns” for “small businesses” and struck out “and” at end.
Subsec. (c)(9)(E). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(K)(iv), substituted “the needs of small business concerns” for “small businesses’ needs” and semicolon for period at end.
Subsec. (c)(9)(F), (G). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(K)(v), added subpars. (F) and (G).
Subsec. (c)(10) to (13). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(2)(L), added pars. (10) to (13).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(3), inserted subsec. (d) heading, designated first sentence of existing provisions as par. (1), inserted par. (1) heading, substituted “The Associate Administrator” for “The Office” in par. (1), designated second sentence of existing provisions as par. (2), inserted par. (2) heading, substituted “To accomplish the goal established under paragraph (1), the Associate Administrator shall—” for “To accomplish this goal, the Office shall work” in par. (2), added subpar. (A) and inserted “(B) work” before “in cooperation”, redesignated former pars. (1) to (5) as cls. (i) to (v), respectively, of subpar. (B) of par. (2), and realigned margins.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(4), inserted heading and substituted “The Associate Administrator” for “The Office” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(5), amended subsec. (f) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Office shall report to the Committees on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Senate on an annual basis as to its progress in implementing the requirements under this section.”
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(6), inserted heading and substituted “The Associate Administrator” for “The Office” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1203(c), added subsec. (h).
Subsecs. (i), (j). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1204(a)(7), added subsecs. (i) and (j).
Subsecs. (k), (l). Pub. L. 111–240, § 1205(a), added subsecs. (k) and (l).
1988—Subsecs. (b) to (g). Pub. L. 100–418 added subsec. (b), redesignated former subsec. (b) as (c) and added pars. (1) to (5) and redesignated former pars. (1) to (3) as (6) to (8), respectively, and added subsecs. (d) to (g).
Change Of Name
Committee on Small Business of Senate changed to Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of Senate. See Senate Resolution No. 123, One Hundred Seventh Congress,
Effective Date
Pub. L. 96–481, title I, § 113(b),
Short Title
For short title of part B of title I of Pub. L. 96–481 as the Small Business Export Expansion Act of 1980, see Short Title of 1980 Amendment note set out under section 631 of this title.
Miscellaneous
Pub. L. 111–240, title I, § 1203(e),
Pub. L. 111–240, title I, § 1205(b),
[For definitions of “Administrator” and “small business concern” as used in section 1205(b) of Pub. L. 111–240, set out above, see section 1001 of Pub. L. 111–240, set out as a note under section 632 of this title.]
Pub. L. 96–481, title I, § 111,