In Portland, the consortium members to date have begun establishing rules governing participation in the consortium and making proposals for joint efforts. These include developing a consortium web site, obtaining sponsors, and generating consortium publications. Commerce staff have traditionally focused on firms that are ready to export, and SBA and Eximbank staff provide export financing to firms that already have potential deals. This program provides a structured mechanism for supplying such firms with comprehensive information on how to export and follow-up export promotion assistance. While E-TAP programs may differ from location to location, they all involve three essential steps.
Firms pay a fee to participate in the program.
Any firms successfully completing the program may apply a large portion of that fee to obtain a Commerce Department export promotion service. Firms completing the program also may be encouraged to participate in an overseas trade mission, during which they would meet prospective customers and possibly make sales. An E-TAP program can be industry specific or presented to firms from several industries. In Seattle, several of the firms that have participated in this program have gone on to export. These include a manufacturer of wastewater treatment facilities.