II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3277 

To encourage exporting by small business concerns, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2012 

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To encourage exporting by small business concerns, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Go Global Act of 

5 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

10 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘Export Assistance Center’’ has 

2 the meaning given that term in section 22(m) of the 

3 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(m)), as so redes4 ignated by section 303 of this Act; and 

5 (3) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

6 meaning given that term under section 3 of the 

7 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

8 TITLE I—STATUS OF EXPORTS 

9 BY SMALL BUSINESSES 

10 SEC. 101. STATUS OF EXPORTS BY SMALL BUSINESSES. 

11 Congress finds the following: 

12 (1) Ninety-five percent of the world’s customers 

13 are located outside of the borders of the United 

14 States. 

15 (2) Of the approximately 28,000,000 small 

16 business concerns in the United States, fewer than 

17 1 percent export their goods and services to foreign 

18 markets. 

19 (3) The approximately 300,000 small busi20 nesses that do export goods and services represent 

21 98 percent of all identified exporters in the United 

22 States and account for more than 30 percent of total 

23 United States exports. 


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1 (4) Jobs created by exports pay, on average, 15 

2 to 20 percent more than jobs created by goods and 

3 services sold in the United States. 

4 (5) Small businesses are well positioned to in5 crease their customer base and create new jobs by 

6 expanding to foreign markets. 

7 TITLE II—FACILITATION OF EX8 PORT OPPORTUNITIES FOR 

9 SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 

10 SEC. 201. EXPORT FINANCE SPECIALISTS. 

11 Section 22(k)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 

12 U.S.C. 649(k)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL EXPORT FINANCE SPE15 CIALISTS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

17 may employ more than the minimum num18 ber of export finance specialists required 

19 under subparagraph (A) based on the de20 mand for export finance specialists in the 

21 15 States with the greatest volume of ex22 ports, as determined in accordance with 

23 the study required under section 1205(b) 

24 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 

25 (15 U.S.C. 649 note). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF EXPORT

2 FINANCE SPECIALISTS.—The Adminis3 trator may not employ more than 50 ex4 port finance specialists. 

5 ‘‘(D) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA6 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated to the Administrator such sums as may 

8 be necessary to carry out this paragraph.’’. 

9 SEC. 202. PROMOTION OF EXPORTS BY RURAL SMALL BUSI10 NESSES. 

11 (a) SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION—UNITED

12 STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE INTERAGENCY

13 COORDINATION.— 

14 (1) EXPORT FINANCING PROGRAMS.—In coordi15 nation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Admin16 istrator shall develop a program to cross-train export 

17 finance specialists and personnel from the Office of 

18 International Trade of the Administration on the ex19 port financing programs of the Department of Agri20 culture and the Foreign Agricultural Service. 

21 (2) EXPORT ASSISTANCE AND BUSINESS COUN22 SELING PROGRAMS.—In coordination with the Sec23 retary of Agriculture and the Foreign Agricultural 

24 Service, the Administrator shall develop a program 

25 to cross-train export finance specialists, personnel 


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1 from the Office of International Trade of the Ad2 ministration, Small Business Development Centers, 

3 women’s business centers, the Service Corps of Re4 tired Executives authorized by section 8(b)(1) of the 

5 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)), Export 

6 Assistance Centers, and other resource partners of 

7 the Administration on the export assistance and 

8 business counseling programs of the Department of 

9 Agriculture. 

10 (b) REPORT ON LENDERS.—Section 7(a)(16)(F) of 

11 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(16)(F)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in clause (i)— 

14 (A) by redesignating subclauses (I) 

15 through (III) as items (aa) through (cc), re16 spectively, and adjusting the margins accord17 ingly; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘list, have made’’ and in19 serting the following: ‘‘list— 

20 ‘‘(I) have made’’; 

21 (C) in item (cc), as so redesignated, by 

22 striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

23 and’’; and 

24 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(II) were located in a rural 

2 area, as that term is defined in sec3 tion 1393(a)(2) of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986, or a nonmetro5 politan statistical area and have 

6 made— 

7 ‘‘(aa) loans guaranteed by 

8 the Administration; or 

9 ‘‘(bb) loans through the pro10 grams offered by the United 

11 States Department of Agriculture 

12 or the Foreign Agricultural Serv13 ice.’’; and 

14 (2) in clause (ii)(II), by inserting ‘‘and by re15 source partners of the Administration’’ after ‘‘the 

16 Administration’’. 

17 (c) COOPERATION WITH SMALL BUSINESS DEVEL18 OPMENT CENTERS.—Section 21(c)(3)(M) of the Small 

19 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(3)(M)) is amended by in20 serting after ‘‘the Department of Commerce,’’ the fol21 lowing: ‘‘the Department of Agriculture,’’. 

22 (d) LIST OF RURAL EXPORT ASSISTANCE RE23 SOURCES.—Section 22(c)(7) of the Small Business Act 

24 (15 U.S.C. 649(c)(7)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub4 paragraph (E); and 

5 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(D) publishing an annual list of relevant 

8 resources and programs of the district and re9 gional offices of the Administration, other Fed10 eral agencies, the small business development 

11 center network, Export Assistance Centers, the 

12 network of women’s business centers, chapters 

13 of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, 

14 State and local export promotion programs, and 

15 partners in the private sector, that— 

16 ‘‘(i) are administered or offered by en17 tities located in rural or nonmetropolitan 

18 statistical areas; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) offer export assistance or busi20 ness counseling services to rural small 

21 businesses concerns; and’’. 

22 SEC. 203. REGISTRY OF EXPORT MANAGEMENT AND EX23 PORT TRADING COMPANIES. 

24 (a) COORDINATION WITH EXPORT MANAGEMENT

25 COMPANIES AND EXPORT TRADING COMPANIES.—Not 


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1 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

2 the Administrator shall establish a program to register ex3 port management companies, as that term is defined by 

4 the Department of Commerce, and export trading compa5 nies, as that term is defined in section 103 of the Export 

6 Trading Company Act of 1982 (15 U.S.C. 4002). 

7 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The program established 

8 under subsection (a) shall— 

9 (1) be similar to the program of the Adminis10 tration for registering franchise companies, as in ef11 fect on the date of enactment of this Act; and 

12 (2) require that a list of the export manage13 ment companies and export trading companies that 

14 register under the program, categorized by the type 

15 of product exported by the company, be made avail16 able on the website of the Administration. 

17 SEC. 204. REVERSE TRADE MISSIONS. 

18 Section 22(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

19 649(c)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

21 end; 

22 (2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at 

23 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(14) in coordination with other relevant Fed2 eral agencies, encourage the participation of employ3 ees and resources partners of the Administration in 

4 reverse trade missions hosted or sponsored by the 

5 Federal Government.’’. 

6 SEC. 205. EXPORT EXPANSION INCENTIVE PROGRAM. 

7 (a) FEE WAIVER.—The Administrator may waive a 

8 fee otherwise applicable under paragraph (18)(A) or 

9 (23)(A) of section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 

10 U.S.C. 636(a)) for a loan guaranteed under such section 

11 7(a) on or after the date of enactment of this Act, if— 

12 (1) the Administrator determines that the loan 

13 will be used to help a small business concern export 

14 for the first time; or 

15 (2) the loan is made to a small business con16 cern certified as eligible to apply for trade adjust17 ment assistance under chapter 3 of title II of the 

18 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2341 et seq.). 

19 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—For each of fiscal 

20 years 2013 through 2016, the Administrator shall submit 

21 to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneur22 ship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business 

23 of the House of Representatives a report on the waiver 

24 of fees under this section that includes— 


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1 (1) the number of small business concerns that 

2 received a fee waiver under this section in the fiscal 

3 year; 

4 (2) an estimate of the number of loans made 

5 under paragraphs (18)(A) and (23)(A) of section 

6 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) 

7 that would not have been made without a waiver of 

8 fees under this section; 

9 (3) the number of banks or lending institutions 

10 that made a loan guaranteed under section 7(a) of 

11 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) for the 

12 first time because of a waiver of fees under this sec13 tion; 

14 (4) the estimated number of jobs created by the 

15 waiver of fees under this section; 

16 (5) the estimated total value of the exports fi17 nanced using a loan for which the Administrator 

18 waived a fee under this section; and 

19 (6) recommendations, if any, for improving or 

20 continuing the provisions of this section. 

21 (c) TERMINATION.—The authority of the Adminis22 trator to waive fees under this section shall terminate on 

23 September 30, 2016. 


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1 (d) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR THE

2 COMMUNITY ADJUSTMENT AND INVESTMENT PROGRAM

3 TO THE EXPORT EXPANSION INVESTMENT PROGRAM.— 

4 (1) TERMINATION OF PARTICIPATION IN COM5 MUNITY ADJUSTMENT AND INVESTMENT PRO6 GRAM.—Notwithstanding section 543 of the North 

7 American Free Trade Agreement Implementation 

8 Act (22 U.S.C. 290m–2), the President shall termi9 nate, on and after October 1, 2012, the participation 

10 of the Small Business Administration in the commu11 nity adjustment and investment program established 

12 pursuant to that section. 

13 (2) REDUCTION OF CAPITAL PAID TO THE

14 NORTH AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK.—The 

15 President shall reduce the amount of the paid-in 

16 capital that would otherwise be paid to the North 

17 American Development Bank by the United States 

18 for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2016 by 

19 an amount equal to the amount received by the 

20 President during fiscal year 2012 under section 

21 543(a)(2) of the North American Free Trade Agree22 ment Implementation Act (22 U.S.C. 290m–2(a)(2)) 

23 for the participation of the Small Business Adminis24 tration in the community adjustment and investment 

25 program. 


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1 (3) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS FOR THE EX2 PORT EXPANSION INVESTMENT PROGRAM.—For 

3 each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2016, an 

4 amount equal to the amount by which the President 

5 reduces the amount of the paid-in capital paid to the 

6 North American Development Bank under para7 graph (1)(B) shall be available to the Administrator 

8 of the Small Business Administration to carry out 

9 subsection (a) of this section. 

10 SEC. 206. STATE TRADE AND EXPORT PROMOTION GRANT 

11 PROGRAM. 

12 Section 1207(a)(5) of the Small Business Jobs Act 

13 of 2010 (15 U.S.C. 649b note) is amended by inserting 

14 after ‘‘Guam,’’ the following: ‘‘the Commonwealth of the 

15 Northern Mariana Islands,’’. 

16 TITLE III—COORDINATION OF 

17 EXPORT PROMOTION RE18 SOURCES FOR SMALL BUSI19 NESS CONCERNS 

20 SEC. 301. INCREASED SMALL BUSINESS REPRESENTATION 

21 ON FEDERAL ADVISORY PANELS. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that the President and 

23 the Federal agencies that are members of the Trade Pro24 motion Coordinating Committee should include small busi25 ness concerns on the appropriate advisory panels, councils, 


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1 and boards of such Federal agencies, such that the ratio 

2 that the number of members of the advisory panels, coun3 cils, and boards that are small business concerns bears 

4 to the total number of members of the advisory panels, 

5 councils, and boards is similar to the ratio that the num6 ber of small business concerns that export bears to the 

7 number of all business concerns in the United States that 

8 export. 

9 SEC. 302. PROMOTION OF INTERAGENCY DETAILS. 

10 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 

11 should periodically detail staff of the Administration to 

12 other Federal agencies that are members of the Trade 

13 Promotion Coordinating Committee, to facilitate the cross 

14 training of the staff of the Administration on the export 

15 assistance programs of such other agencies. 

16 SEC. 303. ANNUAL EXPORT STRATEGY. 

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

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 

20 (m); and 

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(l) SMALL BUSINESS TRADE STRATEGY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS

25 TRADE STRATEGY.—The Associate Administrator 


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1 shall develop and maintain a small business trade 

2 strategy that is included in the report on the govern3 mentwide strategic plan for Federal trade promotion 

4 required to be submitted to Congress by the Trade 

5 Promotion Coordinating Committee under section 

6 2312(f)(1) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 

7 (15 U.S.C. 4727(f)(1)) that includes, at a min8 imum— 

9 ‘‘(A) strategies to increase export opportu10 nities for small business concerns, including a 

11 specific strategy to increase opportunities for 

12 small business concerns that are new to export13 ing; 

14 ‘‘(B) recommendations to increase the 

15 competitiveness in the global economy of small 

16 business concerns in the United States that are 

17 part of industries in which small business con18 cerns account for a high proportion of partici19 pating businesses; 

20 ‘‘(C) recommendations to protect small 

21 business concerns from unfair trade practices, 

22 including intellectual property violations; 

23 ‘‘(D) recommendations for strategies to 

24 promote and facilitate opportunities in the for25 eign markets that are most accessible for small 


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1 business concerns that are new to exporting; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(E) strategies to expand the representa4 tion of small business concerns in the formation 

5 and implementation of United States trade pol6 icy. 

7 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—At the 

8 beginning of each fiscal year, the Associate Adminis9 trator shall submit to the Committee on Small Busi10 ness and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 

11 Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep12 resentatives a report on the small business trade 

13 strategy required under paragraph (1), which shall 

14 contain, at a minimum— 

15 ‘‘(A) a description of each strategy and 

16 recommendation described in paragraph (1); 

17 ‘‘(B) specific policies and objectives, to18 gether with timelines for the implementation of 

19 such policies and objectives; and 

20 ‘‘(C) a description of the progress of the 

21 Administration in implementing the strategies 

22 and recommendations contained in the report 

23 submitted for the preceding fiscal year.’’. 


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1 SEC. 304. REPORT ON MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING. 

2 (a) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘cov3 ered agreement’’ means a memorandum of understanding 

4 or strategic alliance memorandum— 

5 (1) between the Administration and another 

6 Federal agency, a government agency of a foreign 

7 nation, or any business concern; and 

8 (2) that— 

9 (A) was entered during the 10-year period 

10 ending on the date of enactment of this Act; or 

11 (B) the Administrator intends to enter 

12 during the 1-year period beginning on the date 

13 of enactment of this Act. 

14 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 6 months 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, 

16 in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the 

17 Secretary of Commerce, shall submit to the Committee on 

18 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

19 the Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep20 resentatives a report on covered agreements that con21 tains— 

22 (1) the primary purpose of each covered agree23 ment; 

24 (2) the benefit to small business concerns of 

25 each covered agreement; 


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1 (3) the date on which each covered agreement 

2 will expire; and 

3 (4) any additional information determined ap4 propriate by the Administrator. 

Æ 


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