Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 198 / Thursday, October 12, 2000 / Presidential Documents 60581

Executive Order 13169 of October 6, 2000

Assistance to Small Business Exporters and Dislocated

Workers

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the

laws of the United States of America, including the Small Business Act,

15 U.S.C. 631 et seq., the Workforce Investment Act, 29 U.S.C. 2801 et

seq., and the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. 2271 et seq., and in order

to assist small businesses, including businesses headed by underserved populations, in participating in the export of products, and to expedite the

delivery of adjustment assistance to dislocated workers, it is hereby ordered

as follows:

Section 1. Policy. By its accession to the World Trade Organization, the

People’s Republic of China will be required to open its markets to a wide

range of products and services provided by Americans. In addition, the

United States has recently enacted a new law to facilitate trade with the

countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean Basin. Federal agencies

should take steps to assist small businesses, including businesses headed

by underserved populations, in capitalizing on these new opportunities.

The agencies should also take steps to assist workers who lose their jobs

as a result of competition from imports in their efforts to secure adjustment

assistance benefits for which they are eligible.

Sec. 2. Interagency Task Force on Small Business Exports. (a) The Secretaries

of Commerce and Labor, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the United States Trade Representative, and the Chairman of the ExportImport Bank shall, within 60 days from the date of this order, establish

an interagency task force through the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). The task force shall facilitate exports by United States small

businesses, including businesses headed by underserved populations, particularly with respect to the People’s Republic of China and the countries

of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean Basin. The TPCC shall submit

an annual report to the President on the functions carried out by this

task force during the preceding year. As part of its work, the task force

shall assess the extent to which the establishment of permanent normal

trade relations with the People’s Republic of China, and the United States

enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, 19 U.S.C.A. 3701

et seq., and the United States- Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, 19

U.S.C.A. 2701 note, may contribute to the creation of export opportunities

for small businesses including businesses headed by underserved populations.

(b) For the purposes of this order, ‘‘businesses headed by underserved

populations’’ means businesses headed by women or minorities, and/or located in rural communities.

Sec. 3. Expedited Response to Worker Dislocation. (a) The Secretary of

Labor shall expedite the Federal response to worker dislocation through

the Workforce Investment Act and the Trade Adjustment Assistance program

by proactively seeking information, from a variety of sources, on actual

or prospective layoffs, including the media and community and labor union

members, and by sharing such information with appropriate state workforce

officials. In addition, the Department of Labor (Labor) shall undertake a

number of proactive steps to support public outreach activities aimed at

workers, employers, the media, local officials, the community, and labor

60582 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 198 / Thursday, October 12, 2000 / Presidential Documents

organizations and their members to improve awareness of the adjustment

assistance available through Labor programs, including, but not limited to:

(1) developing a set of methods to inform employers of the services

available through Labor workforce programs, which will explain

the requirements of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, 29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq., and provide information on

worker adjustment programs, including the Trade Adjustment Assistance and the basic dislocated worker programs, emphasizing the

importance of early intervention to minimize the affects of work

layoffs;

(2) improving websites and other modes of communication to provide

basic information on dislocated worker and Trade Adjustment Assistance program contacts at the State and local level;

(3) developing a National Toll-Free Help Line to provide universal, accurate, and easy access to information about public workforce services to workers and employers;

(4) providing on-site technical assistance, in partnership with other

Federal agencies, when there are layoffs or closures with multiState impact, or when there are dislocations with significant community impact (such as areas that have been affected by numerous

layoffs of apparel and textile workers);

(5) informing States directly when a secondary worker impact has

been affirmed by Labor; and

(6) to the extent permitted by law, and subject to the availability of

appropriations, providing funding or an outreach campaign for secondary workers (i.e., individuals indirectly affected by increased

imports from other countries).

(b) The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce

and the United States Trade Representative, shall report annually on the

employment effects of the establishment of permanent normal trade relations

with the People’s Republic of China.

Sec. 4. Judicial Review. This order does not create any right or benefit,

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United

States, its officers, its employees, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

October 6, 2000.

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[FR Doc. 00–26397

Filed 10–11–00; 8:45 am]

Billing code 3195–01–P