What many fail to realize is the increasing importance exports play to the backbone of our economy - I am referring to SMEs. And SMEs make up over 97 percent of all of our firms that export. SMEs have not only play a major role in our export expansion, they have also proven to be its main beneficiary. Overall, they accounted for 30 percent of all U.S. exports in 1997. When we look at our exports to China, SMEs are no less significant.
Lets look at some of the facts.
In 1997, eighty-two percent of all U.S. exporters to China were SMEs. During the same year, in 39 states, SMEs made up over half of all exporters to the China market. The number of SMEs exporting to China rose faster than the number of large companies. China's WTO accession will be significantly benefit American SMEs in two ways. First it binds the largest emerging market in the world to the rules of the road in trade.