II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1616 

To authorize assistance to small- and medium-sized businesses to promote 

exports to the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2009 

Ms. CANTWELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize assistance to small- and medium-sized businesses to promote exports to the People’s Republic of 

China, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘United States-China Market Engagement and Export 

6 Promotion Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

TITLE I—PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 


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Sec. 101. Grants to States to establish and operate offices to promote exports 

to China. 

Sec. 102. Program to establish China market advocate positions in United 

States Export Assistance Centers. 

Sec. 103. Assistance to small- and medium-sized businesses for trade missions 

to China. 

Sec. 104. Plan to consolidate fees for Gold Key matching services in China. 

TITLE II—PROGRAMS OF THE SMALL BUSINESS 

ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 201. Trade outreach at the Office of International Trade of the Small 

Business Administration. 

Sec. 202. Grants for Chinese business education programs. 

1 TITLE I—PROGRAMS OF THE 

2 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

3 SEC. 101. GRANTS TO STATES TO ESTABLISH AND OPERATE 

4 OFFICES TO PROMOTE EXPORTS TO CHINA. 

5 (a) GRANTS.—The Secretary of Commerce, acting 

6 through the Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion and 

7 Director of the United States and Foreign Commercial 

8 Service, shall provide grants to States to establish and op9 erate State offices in the People’s Republic of China to 

10 provide assistance to United States exporters for the pro11 motion of exports to China, with a particular focus on es12 tablishment of offices in locations in addition to Beijing 

13 and Shanghai. 

14 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant under sub15 section (a) shall not exceed 33 percent of the total costs 

16 to establish and operate a State office described in such 

17 subsection. 

18 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 270 days after 

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 


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1 Commerce shall promulgate such regulations as may be 

2 necessary to carry out this section. 

3 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean5 ing given the term in section 2301(j)(5) of the Ex6 port Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 

7 4721(j)(5)). 

8 (2) UNITED STATES EXPORTER.—The term 

9 ‘‘United States exporter’’ has the meaning given the 

10 term in section 2301(j)(3) of the Export Enhance11 ment Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(j)(3)). 

12 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

14 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

15 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 

16 through 2014 to carry out this section. 

17 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur18 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 

19 paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended. 

20 SEC. 102. PROGRAM TO ESTABLISH CHINA MARKET ADVO21 CATE POSITIONS IN UNITED STATES EXPORT 

22 ASSISTANCE CENTERS. 

23 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Com24 merce, in the Secretary’s role as chairperson of the Trade 

25 Promotion Coordinating Committee, shall establish a proVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:48 Aug 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616

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1 gram to provide comprehensive assistance to small- and 

2 medium-sized businesses in the United States for purposes 

3 of facilitating exports to China. 

4 (b) CHINA MARKET ADVOCATES.— 

5 (1) POSITIONS AUTHORIZED.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Com7 merce shall create not fewer than 50 China 

8 market advocate positions in United States Ex9 port Assistance Centers. 

10 (B) APPOINTMENT AND TRAINING.—The 

11 China market advocates authorized under sub12 paragraph (A) shall be appointed by the Sec13 retary from among individuals with expertise in 

14 matters relating to trade with China and shall 

15 receive the training authorized under paragraph 

16 (2). 

17 (C) RATE OF PAY.—China market advo18 cates shall be paid at a rate equal to the rate 

19 of basic pay for grades GS–10 through GS–13 

20 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of 

21 title 5, United States Code. 

22 (D) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—To the 

23 maximum extent practicable, China market ad24 vocates shall be assigned to United States Ex25 port Assistance Centers in a manner that 


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1 achieves an equitable geographic distribution of 

2 China market advocates among United States 

3 Export Assistance Centers. 

4 (2) TRAINING AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 

5 shall provide training to China market advocates in 

6 the business culture of China, the market of China, 

7 and the evolving political, cultural, and economic en8 vironment in China. 

9 (c) SERVICES PROVIDED BY ADVOCATES.—China 

10 market advocates authorized under subsection (b) shall 

11 provide comprehensive assistance to small- and medium12 sized businesses in the United States for purposes of facili13 tating exports of United States goods to China. Such as14 sistance may include— 

15 (1) assistance to find and utilize Federal and 

16 private resources to facilitate entering into the mar17 ket of China; 

18 (2) continuous direct and personal contact with 

19 businesses that have entered the market of China; 

20 (3) assistance to resolve disputes with the Gov21 ernment of the United States or China relating to 

22 intellectual property rights violations, export restric23 tions, and additional trade barriers; and 

24 (4) to the extent practicable, locating and re25 cruiting businesses to enter the market of China. 


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1 (d) ADVERTISING OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary of 

2 Commerce shall make available to the public through ad3 vertising and other appropriate methods information 

4 about services offered by China market advocates under 

5 the program authorized under subsection (a). 

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com8 merce to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of 

9 the fiscal years 2010 through 2014, of which— 

10 (1) $5,000,000 are authorized to be appro11 priated to carry out subsection (b)(2); and 

12 (2) $2,000,000 are authorized to be appro13 priated to carry out subsection (d). 

14 SEC. 103. ASSISTANCE TO SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSI15 NESSES FOR TRADE MISSIONS TO CHINA. 

16 (a) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

17 Commerce, in the Secretary’s role as chairperson of the 

18 Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, shall provide 

19 assistance through United States Export Assistance Cen20 ters to eligible small- and medium-sized businesses in the 

21 United States for business-related expenses for trade mis22 sions to China. 

23 (b) SELECTION PROCESS.—The Secretary of Com24 merce shall— 


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1 (1) develop a transparent and competitive scor2 ing system for selection of small- and medium-sized 

3 businesses to receive assistance authorized under 

4 subsection (a) that focuses on the feasibility of ex5 porting goods and services to China; and 

6 (2) develop specific criteria for a definition of 

7 ‘‘business-related expenses’’, as the term is used in 

8 subsection (a), that is compatible with best business 

9 practices. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com12 merce $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 

13 through 2014 to carry out this section. 

14 SEC. 104. PLAN TO CONSOLIDATE FEES FOR GOLD KEY 

15 MATCHING SERVICES IN CHINA. 

16 (a) PLAN REQUIRED.—As soon as is practicable after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

18 Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary for 

19 Trade Promotion and Director of the United States and 

20 Foreign Commercial Service, shall submit to Congress a 

21 plan to consolidate fees charged by the Department of 

22 Commerce for Gold Key matching services provided to 

23 small- and medium-sized businesses that export goods or 

24 services produced in the United States to more than one 

25 market in China. 


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1 (b) GOLD KEY MATCHING SERVICES DEFINED.—In 

2 this section, the term ‘‘Gold Key matching services’’ 

3 means the Gold Key Service program of the Department 

4 of Commerce and includes— 

5 (1) the arrangement of business meetings with 

6 pre-screened contacts, representatives, distributors, 

7 professional associations, government contacts, or li8 censing or joint venture partners in a foreign coun9 try; 

10 (2) customized market and industry briefings 

11 with trade specialists of the Department of Com12 merce; 

13 (3) timely and relevant market research; 

14 (4) appointments with prospective trade part15 ners in key industry sectors; 

16 (5) post-meeting debriefing with trade special17 ists of the Department of Commerce and assistance 

18 in developing appropriate follow-up strategies; and 

19 (6) assistance with travel, accommodations, in20 terpreter service, and clerical support. 


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1 TITLE II—PROGRAMS OF THE 

2 SMALL BUSINESS ADMINIS3 TRATION 

4 SEC. 201. TRADE OUTREACH AT THE OFFICE OF INTER5 NATIONAL TRADE OF THE SMALL BUSINESS 

6 ADMINISTRATION. 

7 Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub9 sections: 

10 ‘‘(h) PROMOTION OF EXPORTS TO CHINA.—The Of11 fice shall provide strategic guidance to small business con12 cerns with respect to exporting goods and services to 

13 China. 

14 ‘‘(i) DIRECTOR OF CHINA PROGRAM GRANTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Office 

16 a Director of China Program Grants (in this sub17 section referred to as the ‘Director’). 

18 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap19 pointed by the Administrator and shall be an indi20 vidual with demonstrated successful experience in 

21 matters relating to international trade and admin22 istering government contracts. 

23 ‘‘(3) RATE OF PAY.—The Director shall be paid 

24 at a rate equal to or greater than the rate of basic 


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1 pay for grade GS–14 of the General Schedule under 

2 section 5332 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The Director shall be respon4 sible for administering the grant program authorized 

5 under section 202 of the United States-China Mar6 ket Engagement and Export Promotion Act (relat7 ing to Chinese business education programs) and 

8 any other similar or related program of the Office.’’. 

9 SEC. 202. GRANTS FOR CHINESE BUSINESS EDUCATION 

10 PROGRAMS. 

11 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Administrator of 

12 the Small Business Administration, acting through the Di13 rector of China Program Grants in the Office of Inter14 national Trade, shall make grants to institutions of higher 

15 education, or combinations of such institutions, to pay the 

16 Federal share of the cost of planning, establishing, and 

17 operating education programs described in subsection (b) 

18 to— 

19 (1) develop and enhance student skills, aware20 ness, and expertise relating to business in China; 

21 and 

22 (2) prepare students to promote the competi23 tiveness of and opportunities for United States small 

24 business concerns in China. 


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1 (b) EDUCATION PROGRAMS DESCRIBED.—Education 

2 programs described in this subsection are academic pro3 grams of study relating to business in China, including 

4 undergraduate and graduate level degrees, courses, or 

5 seminars on— 

6 (1) the economy of China; 

7 (2) trade and commerce in China; 

8 (3) new and expanding export opportunities for 

9 United States small business concerns in China; and 

10 (4) the economic, commerce, and trade relations 

11 between the United States and China. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.—A small business concern desiring 

13 a grant under this section shall submit an application at 

14 such time, in such manner, and containing such informa15 tion as the Director of China Program Grants may re16 quire. 

17 (d) DURATION OF GRANTS.—A grant under this sec18 tion shall be for an initial period not to exceed 2 years. 

19 The Director of China Program Grants may renew such 

20 grant for additional 2-year periods. 

21 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

22 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

23 the cost of an education program described in sub24 section (b) shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost 

25 of such program. 


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1 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

2 share of the cost of an education program described 

3 in subsection (b) may be provided either in cash or 

4 in-kind. 

5 (f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘institu6 tion of higher education’’ has the meaning given the term 

7 in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1001). 

Æ 


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